Photo credit: South China Morning Post
Following months of uncertainty over her future, Sarah Lee has announced her intention to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 30-year-old made her name in the Asian cycling scene by bagging gold at the 500-metre time trial in the 2010 Asian Games, but her pièce de resistance was undoubtedly clinching Hong Kong's first Olympic cycling medal at the London Olympics in 2012, all but cementing her place as a local sporting great.
Lee's hopes of matching or even bettering that result in the 2016 Rio Olympics was unfortunately scuppered by a clash with eventual bronze medallist Anna Meares of Australia- an incident mired in its fair share of controversy at the time.
To complicate matters, rumours of a rift between Lee and the Hong Kong Sports Institute surrounding her wish to cut back on training hours for education and family commitments, seemed to suggest her love for cycling was on the wane after 13 years in the sport.
Photo credit: South China Morning Post
“You can say I am targeting the 2020 Olympic Games in that sense. I think we can still challenge for a medal in Tokyo if we put in a real concerted effort. Age is not a concern for me. Physically and mentally, I am always ready and able to compete,” she finally announced on Saturday after a comfortable win at the Hong Kong Championships.
"My next event will be the World Cup series in Minsk [Belarus] this month which means I will also continue for the next three years,” added Lee.
The news comes as great relief and Hong Kong's Olympic hero will seek to prove she remains in prime physical condition as she hunts for medals at the Asian Championships in Malaysia, the track World Championships in the Netherlands and the Asian Games in Indonesia in August.