Sarah Lee Wai-sze, BBS, MH (; born 12 May 1987) is a Hong Kong professional track cyclist. Her greatest success to date is winning the bronze medal in the women's keirin at the 2012 London Olympics, Hong Kong's third- ever Olympic medal and first in cycling. She won a second Olympic bronze medal in the women's sprint at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, making her the first and only Hong Kong athlete to win medals in two different Olympic Games.

Early years

Lee was born on 12 May 1987 in

Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate Lower Ngau Tau Kok (II) Estate was a 7-block public housing estate built on reclaimed land in Ngau Tau Kok, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, located opposite Kowloon Bay station on the MTR. The demolition of the estate started in March 2010. The e ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. She grew up in a poor family in Ngau Tau Kok, sharing a 200- square-foot public flat with her parents and two older siblings. Lee attended two schools in the locality,

Bishop Paschang Catholic School Bishop Paschang Catholic School () is a government-aided, whole day Roman Catholic coeducational primary school located in Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The school is in Primary One Admission Net 46 of Kwun Tong. With the exception of En ...

and Leung Shek Chee College. Although born with

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, t ...

, Lee represented her school in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

in 100 and 400-metre dash. At Form 3, her school recommended her to the

Hong Kong Sports Institute The Hong Kong Sports Institute () is a sports institute located in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is mandated to provide training to athletes, and also offers academic qualification in the field of sports training. The institute sponsors ...

and her talent was spotted by the

Hong Kong Cycling Association The Hong Kong Cycling Association (in Traditional Chinese: 香港單車聯會) or HKCA is the national governing body of cycle racing in Hong Kong. It is a member of the UCI and the Asian Cycling Confederation. See also * Hong Kong Cycling ...

Career

Lee became a

full-time Full-time or Full Time may refer to: * Full-time job, employment in which a person works a minimum number of hours defined as such by their employer * Full-time mother, a woman whose work is running or managing her family's home * Full-time fa ...

athlete in 2004. Initially trained as a road cyclist, Lee was in danger of bowing out of cycling after a serious

accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researche ...

in 2006 as she swerved to avoid a

stray dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of w ...

during

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

, where she suffered a broken left scaphoid bone. Lee is coached by Jinkang Shen, who has also coached other successful Hong Kong cyclist including Kam-Po Wong.

2010

Lee captured the attention of

when she won gold at the 500-meter time trial

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...

event at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several event ...

, in which she broke the Asian Record in winning the championship with a time of 33.945 s. Lee also won a bronze in the sprint event. In December 2010, Lee improved her Asian Record in 500-meter time trial with a time of 33.939 s in the 2010 Melbourne Track Cycling World Cup. Lee's performance has impressed the

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...

hierarchy, and she received the Hong Kong Potential Sports Stars Awards for 2010. She also received the Medal of Honour from the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino- ...

in 2011 for her outstanding achievements in international cycling competitions.

2012

In February 2012 at the 2012 London Track Cycling World Cup, Lee upset

Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Winter Olympic sports A. Including military patrol e ...

Victoria Pendleton to win a bronze medal in the sprint event at the London Velodrome. She beat Pendleton 2–1 after losing to eventual champion

Guo Shuang Guo Shuang (郭爽, born February 26, 1986) is a Chinese professional track cyclist. She won two bronze medals at the 2006 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, in Sprint and Keirin, and two silver medals at the 2007 UCI Track Cycling World ...

of China in the semi-finals. Lee also won a silver in the

keirin – literally "racing cycle" – is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan around 1948 for gambling ...

final. The

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues raci ...

described 24-year-old Lee as "a late revelation in the sprint events" after she claimed her second medal. Lee was chosen as the flag bearer of the Hong Kong Olympic Representatives for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receiv ...

in women's keirin. Lee's

feat handed Hong Kong their first ever

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

in cycling, and only their third overall. Lee also participated in the women's sprint event although she did not progress through the 1/8 Finals after losing to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

's Lisandra Guerra. Lee eventually finished at the 10th place. Lee received HK$ 750k from the Hang Seng Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme for her achievement in the

Games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

. In an interview with ''

Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and colle ...

'', Lee said she hoped her achievement in the London Olympics can inspire a new generation of Hong Kong athletes for the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

. She loved cycling but she is going to retire soon.

2013

After the Olympics, Lee had a perfect start in the 2012–13 World Cup opening series with a gold medal in the women's sprint in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

, Colombia, which is her first victory in a World Cup event. This is followed by a bronze in women's keirin in the second leg, which was held in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, Scotland. Lee won her first medal in 2013 by coming third in the women's sprint event in the third leg of the 2012–13 World Cup series. In February 2013, Lee carried on her good form and won gold in the women's 500m time-trial at the World Track Championships in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. She became the first female and third overall athlete from Hong Kong to wear

rainbow jersey The rainbow jersey is the distinctive jersey worn by the reigning world champion in a cycling discipline, since 1927. The jersey is predominantly white with five horizontal bands in the UCI colours around the chest. From the bottom up the c ...

. After the gold, Lee beat

of China in Women's Sprint and won a bronze medal, securing her second medal in Minsk. This is the first time any HK athlete won multiple medals at a World Championship event.

2014

At the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

, she won gold medals in Keirin and Sprint. She also won gold in at the

Asian Cycling Championships The Asian Cycling Championships is an annual continental cycling championships for road bicycle racing and track cycling since 1963, exclusively for Asian cyclists selected by the national governing body (member nations of the Asian Cycling Confede ...

for Keirin and 500m time-trial, plus a bronze in Sprint.

2016

At the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, in the keirin competition, she advanced to second round after coming in first in her heat. However, in the second round, she crashed after colliding with

Anna Meares Anna Maree Devenish Meares (born 21 September 1983) is an Australian retired track cyclist. She currently resides in Adelaide in South Australia where the Australian Institute of Sport's Track Cycling program has its headquarters at the Adelaid ...

of Australia and could not finish the race. She was placed 7th in the competition. On the next day, despite still nursing her injuries from her crash from yesterday, she competed in the sprint competition. She won in first and second rounds but lost to

Kristina Vogel Kristina Vogel (born 10 November 1990) is a former German track cyclist. During her career, she won two gold medals and a bronze at the Olympic Games, and is an eleven-time UCI World Champion. She was paralysed following a crash in June 2018. ...

of Germany in the quarterfinals. She finished 6th in this competition.

2018

Lee successfully defended her title in Keirin and 200m time-trial at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 Augus ...

2019

2019 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2019 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were held in Pruszków, Poland from 27 February to 3 March 2019. Schedule 20 events were held: Medal summary Medals table Men Women *Shaded events are non-Olympic References External ...

, Lee claimed gold in sprint and

. She became the only athlete from Hong Kong to earn multiple rainbow jerseys.

2021

At the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, Lee competed in both sprint and Keirin. In the keirin event, she lost in her heat in the first round but won in the repechage to advance to quarterfinals. She finished first in her quarterfinal heat to advance to the semifinals. However, she finished 5th in her heat and competed in the B Final for placement. She finished 8th overall in this event. In the sprint event, Lee advanced to 1/16 finals but lost to Katy Marchant of Great Britain to fall into the repechage. She won in the repechage and advanced to 1/8 final. She won in 1/8 final and quarterfinal. In the semifinals, she lost to Olena Starikova from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

and had to race in the bronze medal match against the reigning world champion Emma Hinze of Germany. She won the bronze medal match and became the only Hong Kong Olympian with medals from different Olympic Games.

Personal life

Lee's idol is Great Britain's six-time Olympic champion Sir

Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy MBE (born 23 March 1976) is a former track cyclist and Racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympic and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Hoy is eleven-times a wo ...

.Lee aiming high after seeing Olympic buildup is on track
''The Standard''. 22 February 2012. Lee is a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

Christian. In 2009, she enrolled on a distance-learning course to study

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

with the New York Theological Education Center Chinese Online School of Theology.

Achievements

;2009 :

::2nd

500 m Time trial :ACC Track Asia Cup ::1st Gold medal blank

Keirin, Bangkok ::1st Gold medal blank

500 m Time trial ::1st Gold medal blank

Team Sprint (with Meng Zhao Juan) ::1st Gold medal blank

Sprint ;2010 : 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Keirin, Beijing :

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

::1st

10m Time ::3rd Bronze medal asia

Sprint :

::2nd

500 m Time trial ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Sprint ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Team Sprint (with EXZhao Juan) :ACC Track Asia Cup ::1st Gold medal blank

500 m Time trial, Hakodate ::1st Gold medal blank

Sprint, Hakodate ::2nd Silver medal blank

Team Sprint (with Meng Zhao Juan), Hakodate ::2nd Silver medal blank

Keirin, Hakodate ::1st Gold medal blank

500 m Time trial, Kuala Lumpur ::2nd Silver medal blank

Sprint, Kuala Lumpur ::2nd Silver medal blank

Keirin, Kuala Lumpur ::1st Gold medal blank

500 m Time trial, Bangkok ::2nd Silver medal blank

Sprint, Bangkok ::2nd Silver medal blank

Keirin, Bangkok ::2nd Silver medal blank

Team Sprint (with Meng Zhao Juan), Bangkok ;2011 : 2010–2011 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics ::3rd Bronze medal blank

500 m Time trial,, Melbourne :

::1st

500 m Time trial ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Sprint ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Team Sprint (with Meng Zhao Juan) :ACC Track Asia Cup ::1st Gold medal blank

Sprint, Bangkok ::1st Gold medal blank

Team Sprint, Bangkok (with Meng Zhao Juan) ::1st Gold medal blank

Sprint, Kuala Lumpur ::1st Gold medal blank

Keirin, Kuala Lumpur ::1st Gold medal blank

500 m Time trial, Kuala Lumpur ::1st Gold medal blank

Team Sprint (with Wang Xiao Fei), Kuala Lumpur :All China National Track Cycling Championships ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Sprint ::2nd Silver medal blank

500 m Time trial : 2010–11 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking :1st 500 m Time trial ;2012 :

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

::3rd

Keirin : 2011–2012 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics ::2nd Silver medal blank

Keirin, London ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Sprint, London :

::1st

500 m Time trial ::1st Gold medal blank

Sprint ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Keirin :All China National Track Cycling Championships ::2nd Silver medal blank

Keirin ::2nd Silver medal blank

500 m Time trial ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Sprint :

UCI Track Cycling World Ranking The UCI Track Cycling World Ranking is a track cycling ranking system based upon the results in all men's and women's UCI-sanctioned races over a twelve-month period. The ranking includes an individual and a nations ranking and includes the disci ...

:1st Sprint ;2013 :

UCI Track World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

::1st

500 m time trial ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Sprint : 2012–2013 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics ::1st Gold medal blank

Sprint, Cali ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Keirin, Glasgow ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Sprint, Aguascalientes ::Overall 1st Jersey white

Keirin ::Overall 1st Jersey white

Sprint :

::1st

500 m Time trial ::1st Gold medal blank

Keirin :

:1st Time trial :1st Keirin ;2014 : Asian Track Championships ::1st Maillot unidentified

Keirin ::1st Maillot unidentified

500m Time Trial ::3rd bronze medal blank

Sprint :

::1st

Keirin ::1st gold medal blank

Sprint :Hong Kong International Track Cup ::1st 500m Time Trial ::2nd Keirin ::2nd Sprint :South Australian Track Classic :1st Sprint ::2nd Keirin :Incheon International Track Competition ::1st Keirin ::1st Sprint :Hong Kong International Track Classic ::1st Keirin ::1st Sprint :Hong Kong International Track Cup ::1st Keirin ::1st Sprint ;2015 : Asian Track Championships ::1st Maillot unidentified

Sprint ::1st Maillot unidentified

500m Time Trial ::3rd bronze medal blank

Keirin :Melbourne Cup on Wheels ::1st Keirin ::1st Sprint :South Australian Grand Prix ::1st Sprint ::2nd Keirin :Super Drome Cup ::1st Keirin ::1st Sprint ;2016 :Asian Track Championships ::1st Maillot unidentified

Keirin ::2nd silver medal blank

500m Time Trial ::3rd bronze medal blank

Sprint :ITS Melbourne DISC Grand Prix ::1st Keirin ::1st Sprint :ITS Melbourne Grand Prix ::1st Keirin ::1st Sprint ;2017 :Asian Track Championships ::1st Maillot unidentified

Keirin ::1st Maillot unidentified

Sprint ::1st Maillot unidentified

500m Time Trial ::2nd silver medal blank

Team Sprint (with Ma Wing Yu) :3rd bronze medal blank

Sprint, World Track Championships ;2021 :

::3rd

Sprint

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Wai Sze 1987 births Living people Hong Kong female cyclists Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Hong Kong Olympic bronze medalists for Hong Kong Olympic medalists in cycling Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in cycling Cyclists at the 2010 Asian Games Cyclists at the 2014 Asian Games Cyclists at the 2018 Asian Games UCI Track Cycling World Champions (women) Asian Games gold medalists for Hong Kong Asian Games silver medalists for Hong Kong Asian Games bronze medalists for Hong Kong Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games People from Kowloon Recipients of the Bronze Bauhinia Star Hong Kong track cyclists Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Hong Kong women