Being a full-time athlete in Hong Kong is not easy, and winning a gold medal is even more difficult. Cheung Ka Long successfully won the gold medal in fencing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, not only earning the nickname “Sword God,” but also deeply impressing Nike with his “Never Done” spirit, leading to a collaboration to release a special edition Air Max 97.
Born in 1997, Cheung Ka-long specially selected the 97 version of the Air Max 97 as the blueprint; drawing design inspiration from his personal and Hong Kong characteristics, and using his favorite military green and earth tones as the main theme.
For his “die-hard fans,” I believe they have noticed that Zhang Jialang once wrote “DON’T LOSE YOUR WAY” on his shoes as a reminder and guide to lead himself in the right direction, and in the special edition of Air Max 97, this life motto is also added to the transparent Air cushion on the side of the shoe, which is very meaningful.
As for the gold Swoosh logo on the shoe, it symbolizes his important moments of winning gold in fencing competitions, highlighting his identity as a gold medalist; other details include Velcro with fencing elements and the “852” number combination representing Hong Kong.
