Albert Lee (Paralympian)

Albert Lee (born 17 October 1962) is an Australian double leg amputee athlete who participated at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in sitting volleyball.

Lee lost his legs in a train accident when he was 20 years old.

Despite this, he has competed in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race, achieved world records and is a qualified optometrist who studied at the University of New South Wales.

Lee is involved in many philanthropic activities and has a multitude of appointments.

Lee was born on 17 October 1962.

On February 20, 1983, Lee was in involved in an accident where he fell under a train This accident created the need for both of his legs to be amputated at the knee.

At this time, Lee was twenty years old and in his third year of studying at a tertiary level.

In Australia there are 8000 lower limb amputations performed annually due to various causes.

Sex, age and type 2 diabetes are all key factors when determining the relative risk rate for lower limb amputations in the Australian public.

Being male can result in a 15-32% increase in relative risk for lower limb amputation.

When amputation occurs at a younger age - less than 35 years old - the effect on risk rate due to sex is emphasized.

By being a young male, one would be at a higher relative risk for lower limb amputation due to any cause than one's female counterparts at that stage of life.

Lee participates in sports and he has significant achievements in sitting volleyball and sailing.

Albert Lee joined the Making Waves foundation in 1994 when it was established.

His position on the Yacht is mid bow where he assists the bowman with everything on the foredeck and his nickname is Bert or Bertie.

He has competed in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, he has crewed in the Pittwater to Coffs Harbor race and has set a world record.

When Lee gets on board he removes his prosthetic legs, due to this he has a lower center of gravity which allows him to stick to the deck.

He uses his arms to quickly move around the boat and he can get to hard to reach places because of his proximity to the deck.

He is able to move around the yacht with often more ease than non-disabled crew who would need to crouch and crawl to reach the spaces he can.

Albert Lee has always been amazed by the adventurous sport of sailing and has said that being "out on the water in tune with nature is an amazing thing".

Albert enjoys sailing as it allows one to recognize one's own strengths and weaknesses and adapt accordingly.

Lee has competed in five races and finished the race three times.

Lee competed in 1994, 1996 and 2013 with the Making Waves Foundation.

In 1994, he responded to an advertisement which was looking for disabled people to race in the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

The founder of the Making Waves Foundation - David Pescud - made Albert a promise and said "you'll never regret this experience - it'll change your life".

He married his wife Anne in 1998.

Together they have two sons – Jonathan and Mitchel.

Lee has interests in team sports, fitness and adventures.

He is a double leg amputee.

Lee lives in Sydney where he is a registered optometrist.

Lee represented Australia at the 2000 Paralympics for sitting volleyball which was held from 18 until 29 October in Sydney, Australia.

The team consisted of 11 members which included Edward Bray, Paul Croft, Darren Gay, Lee, Brant North, Kevin Price, Glenn Pyne, Brett Roworth, Greg Sobczak, Bruce Thompson and Mark Whiteman.

The team known as the 'Crabs', played five matches in the preliminary round of the competition where they were placed in group B and were to play against teams from Egypt, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya and Korea.

The team lost to all the other teams in their group with various results.

They lost to Egypt, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Korea by 3 sets to 0.

They also lost to Libya by 3 sets to 2.

The team played a further 2 matches in the classification rounds of the competition.

In the classification for places 9–12, the team lost to Japan by 3 sets to 1.

In the classification for places 11 and 12, the team managed their first international win against the United States of America by 3 sets to 1.

This only win resulted in the team finishing eleventh out of the twelve teams that competed.