Sarah Lee vows to bounce back from world track disappointment
London Games bronze medallist determined to be in top form for Rio Olympics
Sprinter Sarah Lee Wai-sze says her disappointing performances at the world track cycling championship in Paris will only make her stronger in her quest to make an impact at next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Hong Kong rider returned home empty-handed after racing in three events - the 500-metre time trial, in which she won a gold at the 2013 worlds in Minsk - sprint and keirin. Lee said her 2015 world championships was not too disappointing considering the results and the hectic schedule starting from last year's Asian Games.
My form was not the best and that's why I could not win, but still I don't like defeats
However, she is still struggling to deal with her defeats. "My form was not the best and that's why I could not win, but still I don't like defeats," she said. "On the positive side, it gives me a clear target so that I can work harder leading to the Rio Olympics. And I don't want to have the taste of defeat in the future."
She lost in the first round of the sprint to Miriam Welte of Germany, and finished in 13th place overall.
In the keirin, Lee came first in the opening round but was eliminated in the next stage.
She made up somewhat for that disappointment by winning the run-off for seventh to 12th place. In the two-lap time trial, she achieved her best result of fifth place.
"She still has plenty room for improvement in her tactics and style in both the sprint and keirin," said the coach. "But of course the basic requirement is to achieve a better time in her 200 metres, which forms the base for all sprinting events.
"Before the 2012 London Olympics, only a few sprinters could achieve under 11 seconds in the 200 metres but in Paris, 12 sprinters made it, which means the competition is now very keen."
Lee clocked 10.932 seconds in Paris but the result was only good enough to put her 10th in the sprint qualifiers, forcing her to face the powerful Welte in the first round.
