Sarah Lee Wai-sze (born 12 May 1987 in Hong Kong) is a retired Hong Kong professional track cyclist who specialised in the keirin, sprint and 500m time trial. She grew up in the Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate and, though she suffers from iron-deficiency anaemia and tires easily, kept to a disciplined training routine. In 2005 she was recruited into the Hong Kong squad by head coach Shen Jinkang and trained for years at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, earning the nickname 'the Queen of the Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate'; she competed at three Olympic Games (2012, 2016 and 2021) and three Asian Games (2010, 2014 and 2018). At the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games she won the women's 500m time trial in 33.945 seconds, an Asian record. At the 2012 London Olympics she carried the Hong Kong flag at the opening ceremony and took bronze in the women's keirin, the first Hong Kong cyclist to win an Olympic medal. In 2013 she won the 500m time trial at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Minsk, the first Hong Kong woman to take a world title and her first rainbow jersey. She won both the keirin and sprint at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games; at the 2016 Rio Olympics she collided with Australia's Anna Meares in the second round of the keirin, missed the final and finished seventh, then raced the sprint while injured and lost in the quarter-finals to Germany's Kristina Vogel. At the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games she retained both the keirin and sprint titles, taking her Asian Games gold tally to five, and won a silver medal at that year's World Championships. At the 2019 World Championships in Pruszkow, Poland, she won the women's keirin and then the women's sprint, taking two rainbow jerseys at a single championships, a first for a Hong Kong rider. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics she won bronze in the women's sprint, becoming the first Hong Kong athlete to win medals at two Olympic Games, and at the National Games in Shaanxi that year she won the women's sprint gold and keirin bronze. She has also won multiple Asian Championships and Asian Games medals in the sprint events. In July 2022 she was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star and published her book Every Scar on My Body, recounting nearly two decades of racing. On 5 June 2023 she announced her retirement at her Hong Kong Baptist University graduation ceremony after nearly two decades of professional racing and became a coach with Hong Kong's short-distance cycling team, helping to train young riders. She has studied at the Education University of Hong Kong and HKBU, co-founded the music-therapy charity Music Flow, and serves as head coach of the Po Leung Kuk 'Treasure Cycling Class' for children with special educational needs. In 2025 she received an honorary doctorate from HKBU.
Sarah Lee's Olympic and world-championship medals changed how Hong Kong people saw track cycling and helped make the sprint events a focus of local cycling training. Her success encouraged investment in short-distance cycling at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, and after retiring she became a coach, continuing to nurture new riders. She has raised attention to women's sport by example and, through her book and charity work, has shared the realities of an athlete's life.
Achievements
- 2010 · Won the 500m time trial at the Guangzhou Asian Games in an Asian-record 33.945 seconds.
- 2019 · Won both the women's keirin and sprint at the Track Cycling World Championships, taking two rainbow jerseys at one championships, a first for a Hong Kong rider.
- 2021 · Won bronze in the women's sprint at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first Hong Kong athlete to medal at two Games.