The Most Famous
ATHLETES from Hong Kong
This page contains a list of the greatest Chinese Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 17 of which were born in Hong Kong. This makes Hong Kong the birth place of the 80th most number of Athletes behind Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Côte d'Ivoire.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Athletes of all time. This list of famous Chinese Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Athletes.
1. Freddie Wolff (1910 - 1988)
With an HPI of 55.52, Freddie Wolff is the most famous Chinese Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.
Frederick Ferdinand Wolff, CBE, TD (13 October 1910 – 26 January 1988) was a British athlete, winner of gold medal in 4 × 400 m relay at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
2. Lee Lai Shan (b. 1970)
With an HPI of 43.20, Lee Lai Shan is the 2nd most famous Chinese Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Lee Lai Shan (Chinese: 李麗珊, born 5 September 1970 in Cheung Chau, Hong Kong) is a former world champion and Olympic gold medal-winning professional windsurfer from Hong Kong. She was the first athlete to win an Olympic medal representing British Hong Kong.
3. Vivian Kong (b. 1994)
With an HPI of 40.07, Vivian Kong is the 3rd most famous Chinese Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Vivian Kong Man Wai (Chinese: 江旻憓; Jyutping: gong1 man4 wai6; born 8 February 1994) is a Hong Kong former left-handed épée fencer. A three-time individual Asian champion and three-time Olympian, she won gold in women's individual épée at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
4. Grace Lau (b. 1991)
With an HPI of 35.02, Grace Lau is the 4th most famous Chinese Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Grace Lau Mo-sheung (Chinese: 劉慕裳; born 19 October 1991) is a Hong Kong karateka. She won bronze in the women's kata event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, becoming the first Hong Kong athlete to win an Olympic medal in karate. She is a three-time medallist in the women's individual kata event at the World Karate Championships. She is also a medallist in this event at the Asian Games and the World Beach Games. She is an eight-time medalist, including three gold medals, at the Asian Karate Championships.
5. Doo Hoi Kem (b. 1996)
With an HPI of 33.62, Doo Hoi Kem is the 5th most famous Chinese Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Doo Hoi Kem (Chinese: 杜凱琹; born 27 November 1996) is a Hong Kong table tennis player. She won two medals at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and she was a member of Hong Kong women's team at the 2014 World Team Championships. In 2015, she won a bronze medal in mixed doubles event with Wong Chun Ting at the World Championships. In 2021, she also won bronze in the women's team event with Lee Ho Ching and Minnie Soo Wai Yam at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
6. Nikki Payne (b. 1966)
With an HPI of 32.24, Nikki Payne is the 6th most famous Chinese Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Nicola "Nikki" Payne (born 26 July 1966), also known as Nicola Mills and Nicola Payne-Mills, is a former New Zealand rower. Payne was born in Hong Kong in 1966. At the 1984 World Rowing Junior Championships in Jönköping, Sweden, she came fourth in the single sculls. She trained with Lynley Hannen under the guidance of coach Harry Mahon. Although they had won the national pairs title twice in a row, they were overlooked for Olympic selection. Still novices on the international elite stage in 1988, they went to Europe on their own initiative to be with their coach. They did well in regattas, but were also working and saving up for a holiday in Greece. When they came second at the World Rowing Cup at Rotsee in Lucerne, they were called up not long before the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Hannen and Payne had improved over a short time. At Lucerne, they were beaten by the East German team by 14 seconds. In Seoul, the New Zealand pair competed against the East Germans in the qualifying heat of the coxless pair event, and this time, the winning margin of the East Germans was down to three seconds. The New Zealanders won their repechage and thus qualified for the A final, where they came third, putting a five second margin between themselves and the East German team in fourth place. New Zealand's bronze medal was entirely unexpected. At the 1990 World Rowing Championships in Tasmania, Australia, Payne competed in two events. She came fourth with the women's eight, and sixth with the women's coxless four. Payne later married Peter Mills, a rowing coach from her Waikato club. They had a daughter, although they have since separated. She trained as a doctor in New Zealand, and as of 2008 was completing a fellowship in paediatric ear nose and throat surgery in London.
7. Lee Ho Ching (b. 1992)
With an HPI of 31.66, Lee Ho Ching is the 7th most famous Chinese Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 13 different languages.
Lee Ho Ching (born 24 November 1992) is a Hong Kong table tennis player. She qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and was selected to represent Hong Kong in the women's singles and the women's team. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won a bronze medal with Doo Hoi Kem and Minnie Soo Wai Yam in the women's team event.
8. Camille Cheng (b. 1993)
With an HPI of 28.53, Camille Cheng is the 8th most famous Chinese Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 9 different languages.
Camille Cheng Lily-mei (Chinese: 鄭莉梅; born 9 May 1993) is a Hong Kong competitive swimmer. She qualified to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and was selected to represent Hong Kong in the women's 50 metre freestyle, 100 metre freestyle, 200 metre freestyle, and 4x100 metre medley relay. She subsequently represented Hong Kong in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where she competed in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay. In 2024, Cheng represented Hong Kong again in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris where she swam the women's 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay.
9. Lucía Rodríguez (b. 0)
With an HPI of 28.17, Lucía Rodríguez is the 9th most famous Chinese Athlete. Their biography has been translated into 2 different languages.
Lucía Rodríguez may refer to: Lucía Rodríguez (athlete) Lucía Rodríguez (comedian) Lucía Rodríguez (footballer)
10. Shek Wai Hung (b. 1991)
With an HPI of 26.63, Shek Wai Hung is the 10th most famous Chinese Athlete. His biography has been translated into 5 different languages.
Shek Wai Hung (Chinese: 石偉雄; born 10 October 1991) is an artistic gymnast from Hong Kong. He is the current Asian Games champion on vault.
People
Pantheon has 19 people classified as Chinese athletes born between 1910 and 2002. Of these 19, 18 (94.74%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Chinese athletes include Lee Lai Shan, Vivian Kong, and Grace Lau. The most famous deceased Chinese athletes include Freddie Wolff. As of April 2024, 2 new Chinese athletes have been added to Pantheon including Lee Lai Shan, and Nikki Payne.
Living Chinese Athletes
Go to all Rankings
Lee Lai Shan
1970 - Present
HPI: 43.20
Vivian Kong
1994 - Present
HPI: 40.07
Grace Lau
1991 - Present
HPI: 35.02
Doo Hoi Kem
1996 - Present
HPI: 33.62
Nikki Payne
1966 - Present
HPI: 32.24
Lee Ho Ching
1992 - Present
HPI: 31.66
Camille Cheng
1993 - Present
HPI: 28.53
Lucía Rodríguez
HPI: 28.17
Shek Wai Hung
1991 - Present
HPI: 26.63
Ho Kwan-kit
1997 - Present
HPI: 26.45
Lam Siu-hang
1996 - Present
HPI: 25.63
Minnie Soo
1998 - Present
HPI: 24.90
