Sport is a great fillip for para-swimmer Humairo

Humairo Hedir, 13, has a fear of falling and finds it hard to play sports. The teenager was born with distal arthrogryposis, a disorder characterized by joint deformities that restrict movement in the hands and feet, and has undergone several corrective procedures.

- David Lee

But, thanks to the initiatives under the Disability Sports Master Plan (DSMP), she is now more confident after learning to swim and has even broken a national record.

Her mother, Noraini Maslan, shared with The Straits Times how Humairo was 11 when she started swimming under the national SwimSafer programme, which teaches sport proficiency and water survival skills.

She then received an invitation from a KK Women's and Children's Hospital family support group for Humairo to attend an ActiveSG swimming session as part of therapy.

But the coaches there noticed her buoyancy and talent and asked her to join the Para Sport Academy's swimming programme in late 2022.

Training thrice a week at the Bukit Batok and Jurong West swimming complexes, the Hillgrove Secondary School student improved tremendously and set the women's 50m backstroke S7 national record of 1min 29.14sec in March, before slashing it to 1:21.98 in September.

Humairo said: "Swimming helps to build my muscles and improve my flexibility. When I go faster, I find it relaxing and it helps me in terms of body movement, builds my confidence, discipline and stamina.