Sarah Lee makes history for Hong Kong at world championships – now it’s time for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Sarah Lee Wai-sze said she hopes to chase down more Olympic glory after clinching a golden double at the world championships in Pruszkow, Poland.

After winning the sprint final two days ago over Stephanie Morton of Australia, the red-hot Lee kept the bauhinia flag flying at a packed BGZ Arena with a dominant victory in the women’s keirin on Sunday night.

“I really hope my form can be kept until the Olympic Games,” said Lee, a bronze medallist in the keirin at the 2012 London Games. “It’s just unbelievable. I thought I could do it but when it became true, the feeling is so wonderful.”

It is the first time a Hong Kong rider has captured two gold medals at the worlds. The result saw 31-year-old Lee wrap up her most successful season, comprising six World Cup series with the finale at the world championships.

She has been unbeaten in both events since the penultimate World Cup series in Cambridge, New Zealand, before it moved to the Tseung Kwan O velodrome in February in front of her home crowd.

Altogether, Lee had four sprint victories at the World Cup and two in the keirin, plus her double at the world championships which completed the first part of her qualifying campaign for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In the six-lap keirin final, Morton, who won the team sprint on the opening day with teammate Kaarle McCulloch, was the first to attack with two laps left but lacked the stamina to finish it off.

Lee, who sat in the middle throughout the first five laps, kicked her powerful legs into gear in the final stages to cruise to victory as Morton faded out to finish a disappointing fourth. McCulloch came second with Daria Shmeleva (Russia) third.

“I knew I had good form and kept the race under control,” Lee said. “On the last lap, I sprinted and tried my best. I did it.”

Another Hong Kong rider, Jessica Lee Hoi-yan, reached the second round through the repechage. But that was the best she could offer, having won bronze in the keirin with Sarah Lee at the Hong Kong round of the World Cup series.

Lee’s success has put Hong Kong third in the medal table in Pruszkow, behind top finishers the Netherlands – who won six gold medals – and Australia, who had six golds also but stayed second with one less silver than the Dutch.

In the women’s points race, Yang Qianyu put up a good fight in the 100km race and occupied second place before the last two sprints (there is one sprint every 10km). But the Hong Kong rider failed to get on the podium with a fifth-placed finish, while Cheung King-lok and Leung Chun-wing were 14th out of 18 teams in the men’s madison.