Ice climber, firefighter crowned ‘queen and king’ of annual Cheung Chau bun scrambling contest in Hong Kong
- Janet Kung scores 842 points, beating out two female contestants, while Yip Kin-man takes home top honours in male category, pocketing buns worth 776 points
- Kung, who was woman’s group champion in 2019, says she was surprised to score more points than male winner
A female ice climbing athlete and a fireman have won the annual bun scrambling competition on the outlying island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong, with the former achieving the highest score among the 12 finalists.
In the final round, Janet Kung Tsz-shan scored 842 points, beating out the other two female contestants, while Yip Kin-man took home top honours in the male category, pocketing buns worth 776 points.
They were crowned “bun queen and king” of the competition early Thursday morning, the culmination of a day-long festival that is one of the city’s most famous, with roots going back to the 19th century.
Kung, who is also a registered nurse, was the woman’s group champion in 2019, while Yip won first place in the men’s group in 2016.
Kung said her win felt extra special after missing out on the title last year.
“[This year] I haven’t had as much preparation as last year, and the pressure seems to be less. I really enjoyed the competition and felt that I performed quite well,” she said, adding that winning more points than the male champion surprised her.