Sarah Lee Wai Sze, BBS, MH (; born 12 May 1987) is a former Hong Kong professional

track cyclist 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 wa ...

. 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 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 in Hong Kong, public housing estate built on Land reclamation in Hong Kong, reclaimed land in Ngau Tau Kok, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, located opposite Kowloon Bay station on the MTR ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. 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 and Leung Shek Chee College. Although she was born with

anemia Anemia (also spelt anaemia in British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen. This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin availabl ...

, 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), competitio ...

100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standard SI prefix for a hundred is " hecto-". 100 is the b ...

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 Cycling Association of Hong Kong, China Limited (in Traditional Chinese: 香港單車聯會) or CAHK (formerly the Hong Kong Cycling Association or HKCA) is the national governing body of cycle racing in Hong Kong. It is a member of the UCI ...

Career

Lee became a full-time athlete in 2004. Initially trained as a

road cyclist Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

, Lee was in danger of bowing out of cycling after a serious

accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not deliberately caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that the event may have been caused by Risk assessment, unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Many researchers, insurers ...

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 wh ...

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 The scaphoid bone is one of the carpal bones of the wrist. It is situated between the hand and forearm on the thumb side of the wrist (also called the lateral or radial side). It forms the radial border of the carpal tunnel. The scaphoid b ...

. 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 Cycle sport, 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 i ...

event at the

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

, 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 Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

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 known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

hierarchy, and she received the

Hong Kong Potential Sports Stars Awards Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, ...

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) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

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 Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton (born 24 September 1980) is a British former Track cycling, track cyclist who specialised in the Sprint (cycling), sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Cycling at the Summer Olympics, Olympic, Wo ...

to win a bronze medal in the

event at the

London Velodrome Lee Valley VeloPark is a cycling centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, England. It is owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, and it was opened to the public in March 2014. The facility was one of the pe ...

. She beat Pendleton 2–1 after losing to eventual champion Guo Shuang of China in the semi-finals. Lee also won a silver in the

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

final. The

Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces di ...

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 A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

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 receives ...

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 medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...

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, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Lisandra Guerra Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez (born 31 October 1987, Matanzas) is a Cuban racing cyclist. Major results ;2005 :1st 500 m TT, UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Juniors :1st Sprint, UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Juniors :1st 2 ...

. Lee eventually finished at the 10th place. Lee received

HK$ The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of Hong Kong. It is divided into 100 cents. Historically, it was also divided into 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong an ...

750k from the Hang Seng Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme for her achievement in the

Games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

. 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 coll ...

'', Lee said she hoped her achievement in the

London Olympics London Olympics or London Games may refer to: * 1908 Summer Olympics, Games of the IV Olympiad * 1944 Summer Olympics, Games of the XIII Olympiad, cancelled due to World War II * 1948 Summer Olympics, Games of the XIV Olympiad * 2012 Summer Olympi ...

can inspire a new generation of

Hong Kong athletes Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese surname) *Hong (Korean surname) O ...

for the

2016 Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. 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 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

, 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 In sports (especially association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum of ...

, which was held in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, 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, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

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

rainbow jersey The rainbow jersey is the distinctive cycling jersey, jersey worn by the reigning World Cycling Championship, world champion in a cycling discipline, since 1927. The jersey is predominantly white with five horizontal bands in the Union Cycli ...

. After the gold, Lee beat Guo Shuang 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 (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

, she won gold medals in Keirin and Sprint. She also won gold in 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 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, 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 cycling, track cyclist. She currently resides in Adelaide in South Australia where the Australian Institute of Sport's Track Cycling program has its headquarters ...

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 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 ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

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

and

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

2021

At the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, 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 Katy Marchant (born 30 January 1993) is an elite British track cyclist who specialises in the sprint disciplines. She won gold as part of the Great Britain women's sprint team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and was a European champion i ...

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 Olena Viktorivna Starikova (; born 22 April 1996) is a Ukrainian track cyclist. She represented her nation at the 2014 and 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. Career results ;2014 :Grand Prix Galichyna ::1st Keirin ::1st Team Sprint (wi ...

from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and had to race in the bronze medal match against the reigning world champion

Emma Hinze Emma Hinze (born 17 September 1997) is a German professional racing cyclist. She competed in the 2016 and 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, winning in individual and team sprint as well as in Keirin. Triple world champion, she was seen ...

of Germany. She won the bronze medal match and became the first 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 (born 23 March 1976) is a former Track cycling, track cyclist and racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympics, Great Britain at the Olympic Games, Olympic and World Championships and Scot ...

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

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Christian. In 2009, she enrolled on a

distance-learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

course to study

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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 for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

::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 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, Numeral (linguistics), numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest Positive number, positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in o ...

::3rd

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 (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

::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 Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI-sanctioned races over a twelve-month period. The ranking includes an individual and a nations ra ...

: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 Jersey unknown

Keirin ::1st Jersey unknown

500m Time Trial ::3rd Sprint :

::1st Keirin ::1st 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 Jersey unknown

Sprint ::1st Jersey unknown

500m Time Trial ::3rd 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 Jersey unknown

Keirin ::2nd 500m Time Trial ::3rd Sprint :ITS Melbourne DISC Grand Prix ::1st Keirin ::1st Sprint :ITS Melbourne Grand Prix ::1st Keirin ::1st Sprint ;2017 :Asian Track Championships ::1st Jersey unknown

Keirin ::1st Jersey unknown

Sprint ::1st Jersey unknown

500m Time Trial ::2nd Team Sprint (with Ma Wing Yu) :3rd 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 for Hong Kong Olympic bronze medalists for Hong Kong Olympic bronze 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 sportswomen