Lei Sheng

Lei took up fencing because he liked Zorro.^[2] His results as a junior were unremarkable. The 2005–06 season saw his breakthrough: he climbed his first World Cup podium with a silver medal at La Coruña, followed by a victory at Espinho and a bronze medal at the Torino World Championships. He finished the season 5th in world rankings. In the following season he won the Bonn World Cup, the St Petersburg Grand Prix and the Montreal World Cup, along with a bronze medal in Venice. He placed third again in the World Championships after losing in the semifinals to Italy's Andrea Baldini.

He competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was defeated in the quarter-finals by eventual gold medallist Benjamin Kleibrink.^[3] At the 2012 London Olympics, he won the gold medal in men's individual foil after defeating Egypt's Alaaeldin Abouelkassem with a score of 15-13.^[4]

Along with 2013 world champion Miles Chamley-Watson of the United States, Lei was named “athlete role model” for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.^[2] He was also chosen to bear the Chinese flag at the 2014 Asian Games^[5] and the 2016 Summer Olympics.^[6] Lei is the first ever Chinese Olympic athlete competing in a summer sport other than basketball to carry the Chinese flag in the opening ceremony.