Lei Sheng (; born 7 March 1984) is a Chinese left-handed

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

fencer, six-time team Asian champion, 2012 individual Asian champion, two-time team world champion, three-time Olympian, and 2012 individual Olympic champion.

Career

Lei took up fencing because he liked

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...

. His results as a junior were unremarkable. The 2005–06 season saw his breakthrough: he climbed his first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

podium with a silver medal at La Coruña, followed by a victory at Espinho and a bronze medal at the Torino

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. He finished the season 5th in world rankings. In the following season he won the Bonn World Cup, the St Petersburg Grand Prix and the Montreal World Cup, along with a bronze medal in Venice. He placed third again in the

after losing in the semifinals to Italy's

Andrea Baldini Andrea Baldini (born 19 December 1985) is an Italian foil fencer, several time European and World champion and team Olympic champion in 2012. He is the only foil fencer in history to have obtained four golds (European and World - individual and ...

. He competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was defeated in the quarter-finals by eventual gold medallist

Benjamin Kleibrink Benjamin Philip Kleibrink (born 30 July 1985, in Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-W ...

. At the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he won the gold medal in men's individual foil after defeating Egypt's Alaaeldin Abouelkassem with a score of 15-13. Along with 2013 world champion

Miles Chamley-Watson Miles Chamley-Watson, (born December 3, 1989) is a British-born American right-handed foil fencer, 11-time team Pan American champion, 2019 team world champion, 2013 individual world champion, two-time Olympian, and 2016 team Olympic bronze m ...

of the United States, Lei was named “athlete role model” for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. He was also chosen to bear the Chinese flag at the 2014 Asian Games and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Lei is the first ever Chinese Olympic athlete competing in a summer sport other than basketball to carry the Chinese flag in the opening ceremony.

Medal Record

Olympic Games

World Championship

Asian Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lei, Sheng 1984 births Living people Chinese male foil fencers Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic fencers for China Olympic gold medalists for China Asian Games medalists in fencing Olympic medalists in fencing Fencers from Tianjin Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2006 Asian Games Fencers at the 2010 Asian Games Fencers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games silver medalists for China Asian Games bronze medalists for China Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Universiade medalists in fencing Guangzhou Sport University alumni FISU World University Games gold medalists for China Universiade silver medalists for China Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade 20th-century Chinese people 21st-century Chinese people