Singapore para swimmers eye medals in upcoming Paris Paralympic Games

SINGAPORE: Yip Pin Xiu may be Singapore’s most decorated Paralympian, but she still feels butterflies in her stomach before every major race.
The five-time Paralympic gold medallist and five-time world champion is among the favourites once more at the Paralympic Games, which begin in the French capital Paris on Wednesday (Aug 28) and run till Sep 8.
“It is my fifth Paralympic Games but it really doesn’t get any easier,” the 32-year-old swimmer told CNA.
Yip will be defending her double golds in the 50m backstroke S2 and 100m backstroke S2 events, which she holds the world records for.
She raised a possible reason for her added anxiety: She had less time to prepare from the last Paralympics, which was pushed back a year to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So maybe there’s a bit more nerves and a bit more self-doubt,” she added.
“But I think every athlete will face this at some point or another, and it’s just how we work through it with the different coping strategies that we’ve learned from the psychologists.”
Yip is among three Team Singapore para swimmers who have qualified for this year’s Games.
They are hoping to make a big splash with podium finishes – and they have no plans to slow down after leaving Paris.
Toh Wei Soong, who will be competing in his second Paralympics, has high hopes of winning a medal. The freestyle and butterfly swimmer finished just 0.16 seconds shy of a bronze in the 50m butterfly S7 in the Tokyo Games.
The 25-year-old will also be Singapore’s flag bearer for the Paralympic opening ceremony.
“I have been working very hard for the last few years to try and bring down that fourth-place finish, especially for the butterfly … and I think there’s a decent chance of me getting a medal,” he said.
“That’s the confidence that I feel that I need to bring to this upcoming Games. I have to believe; I have to feel that I can do it and it is possible.
“And I have to keep that spirit going all the way from here, all the way down to the blocks, all the way to the time I put my hand on the wall.”
Toh became the most decorated Singapore athlete at the Asian Para Games held in China’s Hangzhou last October, after he bagged three golds and one silver.
It was his second medal haul of the year. At the 2023 ASEAN Para Games held in Cambodia in June, he won three golds and two silvers, setting new tournament records and a new national record in the process.
He added that in the lead-up to the Games this year, he spent two weeks in Australia working with physiotherapists and coaches, and is looking forward to executing techniques he has been refining over the past few months.
Toh has also had to juggle school with his athletic goals.
He is set to graduate with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from the National University of Singapore on Friday.
“It’s been a long journey, and I’m glad that I can move on to something else in my life,” he added.
As for Yip, her ultimate goal is to swim better than she has all season.
When asked if she is aiming for any particular spot on the podium, she professed that saying it out loud would lead to more pressure and anxiety.
“Of course, we all know what I’m gunning for, what I’m aiming for,” she added.
“I know what timing would get me on the podium and will get me a medal. So if the timing doesn’t get it, then I’m okay, because I’ve done like an excellent time and that’s all I can do. So that really is my way of telling myself what I want.”
The question of whether she will go for her sixth Games in Los Angeles in 2028 is still up in the air, but she said not to write her off just yet.
“I’m going to focus on the World Championships next year first, then maybe tell myself: ‘Oh, maybe it’s three years only, let’s just do this’, you know?” Yip added.
“I think there are so many different things that could happen, but I do love the sports scene, and I love encouraging Singaporeans to lead a more active lifestyle.”
Apart from Yip and Toh, Sophie Soon – who made her Paralympics debut with Toh in 2020 – will also be representing Singapore in para swimming at the Games.
In total, 10 Team Singapore para athletes will compete in six sports: Boccia, archery, shooting, swimming, equestrian, and athletics (shot put).
Catch Team Singapore at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 live and on-demand on mewatch for free at mewatch.sg/paris2024.