Hong Kong athletes who won medals at the National Games in November were on Sunday awarded a share of some HK$11 million in prize money from the Jockey Club.

The SAR, co-hosting the tournament for the first time with Macau and Guangdong, came up with a record haul of nine gold, two silver and eight bronze medals.

At a ceremony at Sha Tin Racecourse, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said the hard work of the athletes, their teams and the sports sector made Hong Kong people proud.

He said the government will keep promoting sports development as officials put more resources into the sector.

Star foil fencer Edgar Cheung, who won a gold medal as part of the men's team, said he was happy that the four athletes got to split the prize money.

"The money can be helpful after our retirement. I'll save it up in case of emergency, since we never know what's going to happen," the 28-year-old told reporters.

"But I don't really have retirement plans at the moment, it's just about planning ahead."

Cheung added that he hopes to defend his Asian Games individual foil title in Japan this year, while also hoping that Team Hong Kong, China have a shot at gold.

For her part, cyclist Ceci Lee, who grabbed an astonishing three golds at the national tournament, said she will give some of her prize money to teammates as they won the road race together.

Lee said she is also setting her sights on winning gold at the Asian Games, but it is unclear whether she will give the road race top priority as organisers have not announced the route yet.