Women of Power: cyclist Sarah Lee, swimmer Robyn Lamsam and high-jumper Cecilia Yeung make Prestige Hong Kong magazine’s elite list for 2021
- Cyclist Lee is a double Olympic bronze medallist as well as a motivational speaker and an inspiration to Hong Kong’s younger generation
- Lamsam is dedicated to raising awareness about hearing impairment after her son Kyle had cochlear implants inserted when he was nine months old
Double Olympic medallist cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze and pioneering swimmer Robyn Lamsam have made the list of Prestige Hong Kong magazine’s “Women of Power” for 2021.
The duo are among three sports-linked women – including high-jumper Cecilia Yeung Man-wai – on the list of 72, published on Wednesday, though their achievements and influence go beyond the field of play. They join other women across industries such as fashion, the arts and finance, including renown filmmaker Ann Hui and influencer Bonnae Gokson.
“It’s incredibly humbling to be honoured alongside so many inspirational ladies who are doing so much in their respective fields,” Lamsam told the Post. “This is also an wonderful platform for me to offer hope to families facing life challenges – to raise further awareness about the subject of hearing loss in children, and the importance of early intervention.”
“To me, POWER is the recognition of self-worth and the fulfilment of one’s true potential,” Lamsam wrote on Facebook. “My superpower would be to instil the ability to respect individual differences, and to inspire everyone to embrace their own superpower within.”
Sarah Lee won Hong Kong’s third-ever Olympic medal with a keirin bronze at the 2012 London Games and added another bronze in the women’s sprint in Tokyo in August.
The magazine assigned a superpower to each of the 40 women, and for Lee, it said: “Lee enjoys singing, writing and public speaking, and uses them to her greatest strength – giving motivational speeches to her dedicated followers and promoting the benefits of sports for all to the public.
“Her outgoing nature has made her the perfect ambassador for Unicef, Junior Police Call and the Occupational Safety and Health Council.”
The magazine’s managing director and publisher Oceana Ou wrote that they had originally decided on a list of 100 women “who not only understood the influence they wielded but wished to transfer their secrets and pay it forward, to help other women pave the way to success, in the interest of bridging a gender gap that’s still very much in existence”.
She continued: “As we began the process, we gave up our golden number of 100, because we realised on the way that this wasn’t about achieving an arbitrary round number that looked nice as a cover line: this was about change. Changing the status quo, changing the game. We went for quality, over quantity.”
The 27-year-old Yeung is the Hong Kong record holder for the women’s high jump and is also a part-time model.
“Yeung spreads an abundance of positivity via Instagram to her 120K-and-counting followers,” the magazine wrote. “Not one to quit even when the going gets tough, her goal is to jump higher and break her own record, while also spreading her aim-higher mentality to those around her.”
