SINGAPORE — National para-swimmer Yip Pin Xiu may have been 15,000km away in Rio de Janeiro as she swam her way to a Paralympics gold medal in the 50m backstroke S2 event on Friday morning (Sept 16), but back home in Singapore she was being cheered on by many Singaporeans who woke up early just to watch her 7am race on television.

Over at Bendemeer Secondary School — Yip’s alma mater — a crowd of more than 500, comprising current and former students, staff and guests gathered in the school hall for a live screening of her race. Among those present were Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Sim Ann and Sport Singapore (SportSG) CEO Lim Teck Yin.

At another screening held at the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI), close to 40 people, including national athletes, SportSG officials, Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin, as well as Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) vice-president Raja Singh turned up to cheer Yip on.

As Yip, who has muscular dystrophy, turned on her afterburners in the race to edge ahead of China’s Feng Yazhu and clinched gold in a time of 1min 0.33s, loud cheers erupted at both venues.

It was Yip’s second win at the Rio Games — a feat that made her the first Singaporean to win multiple gold medals at the Paralympics. Yip’s medal was also Singapore’s third medal from Rio so far. Fellow swimmer Theresa Goh clinched the bronze medal in Monday’s 100m SB4 breaststroke final.

Sim hailed Yip as a source of inspiration for Singaporeans. “I think this will inspire many Singaporeans from all walks of life,” she said. “We are tremendously proud of what she has achieved, we are very proud of our para-athletes, of Team Singapore, and I think that her achievements and those of our para-athletes will continue to underscore the important message of inclusiveness in our society.”

It was clear too that Bendemeer students were proud to see their alumna in winning form. Said Secondary Two student Swetha Mahesh: “I feel very proud. First of all, she is our school alumni. She also has a lot of perseverance despite her disability. She has really taught me how to be determined. Even though there are obstacles in your way, you should learn how to get over them.”

Steffanie Lim, another Secondary Two student, said she was inspired by Yip when the swimmer previously gave a talk at the school.

“It was a very inspiring session. She is a very determined person,” she said. “She told us that while there could be many obstacles in our way,  the future can be bright, so long as you just persevere.”

Bendemeer principal Ling Khoon Chow said the school organised the live screening because they felt it presented a great teachable moment for their students.

“As her former school, we want to support her,” said Ling. “We also felt this was a great teachable moment for our students. Coincidentally, my alumni president also had the same idea. We only started planning this event three days ago, and I’m very happy that the turnout was great.”

To prepare the students for the event, the school spent the past few days telling them about Yip. They also screened the video of her win in last Saturday’s 100m backstroke S2 final during one of the school’s 
assemblies.

“From this event, my students were able to see how she swam her heart out, how much hard work she has to put in, and how much she has had to overcome to just get into the water and swim that 50m with all she can,” said Ling. 

“I’m sure many of them are inspired, and know that they too can overcome their own challenges in life despite the difficulties. You read that she trains 12 times a week, so it is about hard work in achieving your goals. That is one of the messages we will send to our students.”

For Agnes Tan, who was Yip’s form teacher, the event brought back memories of Yip’s first triumph at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. 

“When she was in Bendemeer, she always came across as someone who was determined to succeed,” she said. “For example, 2008 was an important year for her because there were the Paralympics and her O level exams. She made a very brave decision to juggle both, to go ahead with trainings and the Paralympics.

“She took leave from school a few times, but whenever she returned from her trainings, she managed to catch up with her studies every time. She found her own ways to catch up.”

Over at the SSI, Raja said he was proud to see Yip come such a long way. 

“I’ve known Pin Xiu even before she became an athlete. She was a young girl, very shy, but when she went into sport, she became a more confident and vocal person,” the former Paralympian told TODAY.

“Now, she’s become a great role model and an inspiration to the athletes and people around her.

“Her hunger is what makes her special as an athlete. She worked hard towards achieving her goals, and it has paid off.”

Raja added that the swimmers’ feats at the Rio Paralympics are signs that para-sports in Singapore is on the right track, and hopes this upward trajectory will continue.

“SportSG and the SDSC have put in a lot of effort mapping out the entire plan to support each other,” he said. 

“I think things have worked very well and we hope to continue this momentum for future Games.

“Right now, we’re promoting sports for people with disability and integrating them together with able-bodied athletes, which is a very big step. Moving forward, it should now be easier to get a wider participation base, as more people will know about disability sports.”

Yip’s win also earned her praise from fellow Team Singapore athletes. 

“Every athlete’s ultimate dream is always the Olympics and to win the gold,” said national kayaker Brandon Ooi. 

“It’s amazing to see athletes like Pin Xiu, Theresa and Joseph Schooling beating countries with larger talent pools and resources. It just shows that we can achieve at the highest level. All it takes is hard work and the desire to constantly better yourself.”

National high-jumper Michelle Sng added: “Pin Xiu is just inspiring to watch and, despite her success, she’s still such a down-to-earth and friendly person, which is wonderful.”

National dragonboater Chua Jia Min, who woke up at 4.30am to travel to SSI, said Yip has inspired her to go the extra mile as she strives for excellence in her sport.

“I’m sure it’s not easy for her to keep training because she’s faced so many difficulties,” she said. “But she persevered and it has paid off, and this is something we can learn from her and other para-athletes.”