Lee Thompson, an Olympic sprinter who competed for team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, opted for life-changing laser eye surgery at Optical Express. Wearing glasses since secondary school, he found that they affected his confidence, which led him to switch to contact lenses at a later age. When he realised that they impacted his performance during races however, worrying about them falling out when running down the home straight, he decided that it was time to look into an alternative vision correction solution that would leave him feeling more comfortable and confident out on track.

“There’s been times when I’ve been doing running sessions down on the track, and one of my lenses fell out. Even a race this year in Manchester, I was coming down the home straight, winning the race, but my contact lens fell out, so I was running down the straight trying to see,” he explains. Keen to opt for an alternative solution that would help him excel during races, he started looking into laser eye surgery and decided to book in for a free consultation, where he was ecstatic to learn that he was a suitable candidate.

Receiving treatment at our Meadowhall clinic, Lee couldn’t fault the surgery procedure and was delighted to find that it had been completely pain free and a lot quicker than he had initially anticipated: “I can’t recommend the surgery enough, because it was painless and it was over in like 10 minutes, I was back at home within a couple hours of my appointment.” He received constant support from the team and his surgeon, who helped make him feel at ease throughout the entire process. “They were so welcoming, so friendly. I remember the lady, I think she was called Siobhan, and it was kind of like she was mothering me in a way, because it’s such a high impacting surgery on your life,” he says.

Waking up the morning after his surgery, Lee found that his vision had already improved so drastically that he no longer needed his glasses or contact lenses. Describing it as a dream that has become reality, he is excited to get back out on track without the constant worry of not being able to see: “It’s that extra bit of confidence, one less thing to worry about on race day, one less thing to concentrate on when doing your session. Just go out there and focus on performance.” He is also relieved to know that his daily disposable contact lenses won’t be damaging the environment any longer, commenting: “It’s just like a cherry on top of the cake isn’t it, I’ve done it to benefit myself, first and foremost, but as a result of that it’s benefitted the environment. So it’s an additional good feeling on top of it.”

Over the moon with his restored vision, Lee wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Optical Express to friends and family. “The staff here are so friendly. You feel special, you feel like they know who you are by name as well. You come in here and you just feel so comfortable. I can trust in the surgeon that he knows what he’s doing, and the aftercare has been insane. It is like a dream come true to be honest, it sounds silly because it’s just glasses, but it is a dream come true,” he comments.