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Sumnima Kandangwa

Freelance Editorial Assistant for Style by SCMP


Staying true to Gabrielle Chanel’s love of sport and her belief that physical freedom and self-expression are essential in a woman’s life, the CC League is a two-year mentorship programme that treats beauty as a source of power.
It goes beyond the more customary Chanel aesthetic, and offers one-on-one guidance and group coaching focused on self-confidence, self-expression and femininity to help each athlete define her own rituals and presence, on and off the field.

“To me, being feminine means being free,” says Hong Kong swimmer Cindy Cheung Sum-yuet, 20, one of the youngest athletes in the League. At 16, she became the city’s youngest swimmer to compete internationally, qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Games at which her role model Siobhan Haughey clinched her third and fourth Olympic medals, taking bronze in the women’s 100m and 200m freestyle.
“For women, I think something as simple as showing up in a one-piece swimsuit already represents progress from the past,” she adds, alluding to the long history of restrictive dress codes for women in sport.
Sitting beside her, Hong Kong fencer Janelle Leung nods in agreement, adding, “For me it’s also about embracing your uniqueness.” The 21-year-old was Hong Kong’s first junior female fencer to win gold in both individual and team fencing at the 2022 Asian Junior and Cadet Championships.

Cheung and Leung are joined in the CC League by Mexican diver Gaby Agúndez, French pole vaulter Marie-Julie Bonnin, French Paralympic cyclist Heïdi Gaugain, South Korean short track speed skater Gilli Kim and South Korean climber Jain Kim. Guiding them is mentor Renee Montgomery, former WNBA player and now vice-president and co-owner of the Atlanta Dream.
Over the past year, trips to Paris and Nice have brought the athletes together in person, with days moving between beauty workshops, coaching sessions and conversations. For Hong Kong’s Cheung and Leung – the two youngest members of the cohort – the bonds built with fellow athletes and their shared time in the CC League have proved invaluable.
Leung was five when she first picked up a foil, after stumbling across a fencing class in a shopping centre and insisting on trying it herself. By 13, she had joined the Hong Kong fencing team, and in 2022, she debuted at the Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships, taking gold in both the junior foil individual and junior foil team events. She continued to rise through the ranks, but it was only last June that she finally decided to commit to becoming a full-time athlete, a choice she credits in part to the CC League and its mentor, Montgomery.

“In a Zoom call with Renee, I shared my doubts about being a student athlete,” Leung recalls. “I’m an overthinker and a perfectionist. The call made me re-evaluate everything. She told me it’s OK to take risks sometimes and I thought to myself that this is my dream, I really want to achieve this.”
For Cheung, the most valuable parts of the CC League have been the friendships and shared sense of womanhood that have emerged among the athletes. “Even though we do different sports, we’ve all faced similar moments of uncertainty. That shared understanding makes me feel seen,” she says.
In a world where female athletes are often expected to stay composed in the face of scrutiny, that space to be soft and vulnerable was a welcome safe one for the 20 year old.

Both athletes trace their strength back to the women closest to them. Cheung describes her mother as her “best friend, biggest supporter and safe space”, and the person she turns to when the pressure of training and expectations threatens to overwhelm everything else. Leung, meanwhile, finds reassurance in her younger sister. “She’s so confident in her own skin and never lets others affect her. Her advice always grounds me,” she says.
As young athletes, Cheung and Leung have both stepped into that role model space themselves. At the Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships in Uzbekistan, Leung, then only 17, was approached by a 10-year-old local fencer who had been quietly sketching her stance and movements throughout the competition. “It was so touching. I was so surprised and grateful,” Leung recalls. “It made me realise I’d become someone’s role model, and I hope that motivates her and others to chase their dreams too.”

But for Cheung, who has been swimming since she was seven, the “prodigy” label has never sat easily. “When I first achieved the A cut, everyone labelled me as ‘the next big thing’,” she says, reminiscing about the day she qualified for the Olympics. “At first I was proud, but then I struggled, especially after not performing as well at the Olympics.”
Cheung was eliminated early in the women’s 200-metre backstroke heats after the then 17-year-old clocked 2:17.32 to finish 26th out of 27 swimmers.
“I had to learn that it’s OK to have highs and lows,” she continues. “After the Olympics, I realised I don’t want to set rigid goals. Now, I focus on daily improvements. Small details like dives and turns. I trust that if I keep showing up, good results will follow naturally.”
Outside the pool, Cheung is studying psychology and sociology at the University of Hong Kong, drawn to a field she chose because she has always been “fascinated by how the mind works”. Leung, a full-time student at Hong Kong Baptist University, is pursuing a degree in traditional Chinese medicine with a focus on sports, hoping one day to help other athletes recover and stay healthy throughout their careers.
Between early mornings, training blocks, lectures and exams, both women admit there is often little space left for self-expression that is not tied to performance.

That is where the CC League has helped to expand what being authentic means, via coaching sessions on self-expression. Leung began filming and sharing vlogs of her daily life, capturing everything from competition days to quieter moments on campus, in an effort to show her genuine self. For Cheung, a Chanel fragrance workshop – where athletes explored how different perfumes evoke different emotions – encouraged her to start using fragrances to express her moods. Today she says she is wearing something “beachy” to feel free and relaxed.
The true significance of the CC League for Cheung, Leung and the others manifests itself not only in beauty and renewed self-confidence but also in the power of womanhood and self-identity.
“I was also inspired by learning about Gabrielle Chanel, how she valued freedom and loved sports,” Cheung says. “I feel like my own values align with hers, so being part of the CC League and the Chanel family has been truly special.”


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Elite athletes and members of Chanel Beauty’s CC League: Heïdi Gaugain, Gaby Agundez, Cindy Cheung Sum-Yuet, Renee Montgomery, Janelle Leung, Marie-Julie Bonnin and Jain Kim. Photo: Handout

Top row: Heïdi Gaugain, Cindy Cheung Sum-yuet, Renee Montgomery, Marie-Julie Bonnin; bottom row: Jain Kim, Gaby Agundez, Janette Leung. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong swimmer Cindy Cheung Sum-yuet. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong fencer Janelle Leung. Photo: Handout

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Janelle Leung began fencing at age five after stumbling upon a fencing class. Photo: Handout

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The initiative promotes confidence and camaraderie among sportswomen including Hong Kong’s Cindy Cheung and Janelle Leung


The initiative promotes confidence and camaraderie among sportswomen including Hong Kong’s Cindy Cheung and Janelle Leung.


Style Edit: Chanel’s CC League empowers women athletes on and off the field

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The initiative promotes confidence and camaraderie among sportswomen including Hong Kong’s Cindy Cheung and Janelle Leung

The initiative promotes confidence and camaraderie among sportswomen including Hong Kong’s Cindy Cheung and Janelle Leung