One-time chef Jessica Lee confident she has the ingredients to make Hong Kong cycling team for 2020 Olympics
The Hong Kong-born 27-year-old gives up her life in Glasgow to follow her dream of competing at the highest level
One-time French cuisine chef Jessica Lee Hoi-yan is cooking up a storm on the Hong Kong team after deciding to travel halfway around the world in an attempt to realise her Olympic dream.
A latecomer to cycling, the 27-year-old University of Glasgow graduate has decided to train full-time in the city after making the brave decision to leave her beloved Glasgow, which has been her home since she was 11 years old, to try out her luck here.
She’s been recruited by head cycling coach Shen Jinkang to train full-time after appearing at the China National Games in Tianjin last September when she represented the overseas Chinese team.
Lee thinks she has all the ingredients to make the grade for Tokyo even though she’s never been a sporty person to begin with.
“I have never played sport until I was 19 when I entered university, where I became a member of the rowing team,” said Lee, who finished second in the women’s sprint behind Olympic medallist Sarah Lee Wai-sze at the Hong Kong championships at Tseung Kwan O velodrome on Saturday.
“Honestly, after graduation when I was unemployed, a friend of mine introduced me to track cycling and we tried it in a local velodrome and that’s how I got started.