Giving Back to Society After Blazing Trail

Yip and David have overcome adversity while also creating opportunities for youth to excel

- David Lee

When she was 16, Yip Pin Xiu became Singapore's first Paralympic champion. But a few months later, the national swimmer felt she did not do well for her O-level examinations in which she had 24 points for her L1R5 score (English language and five relevant subjects).

While many would have opted to focus on either sport or studies, Yip decided to continue juggling both and excelled.

After her victorious Paralympic debut at Beijing 2008, she competed in four more Games, racking up seven Paralympic golds and one silver in total.

Off the pool, she attained a diploma in sports science at Republic Polytechnic, graduating as backup valedictorian in 2012 and a bachelor of social science from Singapore Management University in 2017.

The 33-year-old shared how she broke barriers while speaking as a panellist at the Love, Bonito: The Trailblazers Summit at New Bahru on March 1.

She told The Sunday Times: "If I can win a medal at the Paralympics, there's no way I cannot study. I can use the same kind of discipline I use in the water."

Yip, who at two years old was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease which causes the muscles to progressively weaken, had started swimming as a family activity with her older brothers when she was five. At 12, she decided to take it seriously and train full time.