Former national high jump champion Lee Hup Wei hopes to get more opportunities to speak to schoolchildren about sports.
The former Asian champion said this after giving a talk to students of Sri Bestari Private School during its sports day at Universiti Malaya Arena in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend. This drew admiration from many as they felt it was only right for an athlete – current or former – to inspire the children during such events.
“I was nervous before the talk as I had never addressed such a big crowd before,” said Lee, who spoke at the launch of the school’s sports carnival.
“I shared my experience of competing in the Olympics, the World Championships, Asian Championships, and other events. I also shared my training routines and how we prepared for major competitions.
“They were excited to learn that I started from a national school (SMK Dengkil). It was there that I honed my skills before being spotted by the national coaches.”
Lee was drafted to the Bukit Jalil Sports School when he entered Form Four. From there, he began to shine.
It peaked with him setting the national record of 2.27m in 2008 and winning gold medals at four SEA Games (2007, 2009, 2011, 2019), and the Asian Championships (2007).
He also qualified for three Olympics (2008, 2012, and 2020) and the 2019 World Championships.
His best height was 2.29m in 2019, one centimetre lower than the national record set in 2017 by Nauraj Singh.
“I want to give back to athletics. Having the opportunity to speak to the youngsters in the school is one way of doing it,” said the 35-year-old, who retired in March.
“After my speech, I had the chance to go on the track and mingle with the children. I got to speak to them, encourage them, and take photographs.”
Lee, a coach with the National Sports Council (NSC), said part of his job was to unearth talent for the athletics programme.
“I started a month ago. It is just a start, but it feels good to give something back to the sport I love.”
Main image of Lee (in the national kit) and several students courtesy of Tan Tee Hong.
