Cycling star Sarah Lee brushes aside age concerns to claim gold at Japan Cup II
- After clocking in her best time of the year, cycling ace steps up to win gold in the keirin at Japan Cup II
- Lee said she remains a threat on the world circuit and will have another opportunity to compete at the JICF International Track Cup on August 7
Cycling star Sarah Lee Wai-sze brushed off questions about her age on Sunday, after storming the field to clinch gold in the women’s keirin at the Japan Cup II.
As the two Japan Cups concluded at the Izu Velodrome, the site of the Tokyo Olympics, the 35-year-old Lee won the keirin first round comfortably while fellow Hong Kong rider Yeung Cho-yiu finished third.
The finals, however, was a dramatically different affair. With six finalists from Hong Kong, South Korea, and the host country Japan in the race, things took a turn when the two Korean riders collided just 30 metres before the finish line, leaving Japanese riders Fuko Umekawa and Mina Sato and Hong Kong’s Lee to battle it out for first place.
Lee outsprinted the two home favourites for a photo finish, while Yeung finished fourth.
“I finally won,” said Lee, who won three silver medals over three days at the two Japan Cups.
It was a rewarding race to the podium for Lee, who won her last gold medal at the National Games in September, and has since focused on her studies at Baptist University. In May she rejoined the team for training in Kunming.
Her campaign in Japan certainly had its critics. The city’s two-time Olympic bronze medallist claimed earlier this week that many had written her off due to her age.
“Perhaps I had won too much previously, so when I came in second, everyone was startled and declared I was old,” she said.
