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'''Yip Pin Xiu''' is a [[Singapore]]an [[backstroke]] [[swimmer]]. She has [[muscular dystrophy]] and competes in the [[Paralympics#Classification|S3 category]] for the physically impaired. At the [[2008 Summer Paralympics]], she won a gold medal in the 50m backstroke and a silver medal in the 50m [[freestyle]]. She set world records in both events.
{{Chinese name|Yip ({{zh-cp|c=叶|p=Yè}})}}

'''Yip Pin Xiu''' ({{pronounced|jip pʰin ɕiou̯}}, {{respelled|yip pin sioo}}; {{zh-cp|c=叶品秀|p=Yè Pínxìu}})<ref>{{citation|title={{lang|zh|预赛曾破世界纪录小泳将叶品秀为我国夺首枚残奥银牌}} &#91;Having previously broken world record in heats, little swim leader Yip Pin Xiu seizes our country's first Paralympic silver medal&#93;|url=http://sports.zaobao.com/pages10/paralympic080914.shtml|newspaper=[[Lianhe Zaobao]]|date=14 September 2008|accessdate=4 December 2008}}; {{citation|author={{lang|zh|孙天仁}} (Sūn Tiānrén)|title={{lang|zh|新加坡16岁小将叶品秀：理想决不"萎缩"}} &#91;16-year-old Singaporean Yip Pin Xiu: My ideals definitely won't "atrophy"&#93;|url=http://2008.people.com.cn/GB/132404/133089/134323/8056587.html|newspaper=[[People's Daily]]|date=17 September 2008|accessdate=4 December 2008}}.</ref> is a [[Singapore]]an [[backstroke]] [[swimmer]]. She has [[muscular dystrophy]] and competes in the [[Paralympics#Classification|S3 category]] for the physically impaired. At the [[2008 Summer Paralympics]], she won a gold medal in the 50m backstroke and a silver medal in the 50m [[freestyle]]. She set world records in both events.


==Early years and personal life==
==Early years and personal life==
Yip was born with muscular dystrophy,<ref name="hooray">Teh Jen Lee, "[http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20080924-89758.html Yip, yip, hooray!]", ''[[The New Paper]]'', 24 September 2008. Retrieved on 7 December 2008.</ref> a genetic disorder that causes her body to degenerate, and a nerve condition that affects her eyesight.<ref name="smash">Wang Meng Meng, "Yip smashes two world records for the disabled", ''[[The Straits Times]]'', 28 May 2008.</ref> When she was five, she started swimming to improve her health and strengthen her muscles.<ref name="stroke">Mindy Tan, "She misses gold with a stroke", ''The New Paper'', 15 September 2008.</ref> Nevertheless, by the age of 11, she had lost her ability to walk and had to use a wheelchair.<ref name="thewonder">"The wonder of Pin Xiu", ''[[Today (Singapore newspaper)|TODAY]]'', 7 June 2008.</ref><ref name="like">Sim Chi Yin, "I like the way I am now", ''The Straits Times'', 17 September 2008.</ref> She is the youngest of three children<ref name="stroke"/> to her parents; her father sells oil refinery hardware,<ref name="hooray"/> while her mother is a senior officer at [[Singapore Airlines]].<ref name="like"/> She studied in [[Ai Tong Primary School]] and [[Bendemeer Secondary School]].<ref name="stroke"/>
Yip was born with muscular dystrophy,<ref name="hooray">Teh Jen Lee, "Yip, yip, hooray!", ''[[The New Paper]]'', 24 September 2008.</ref> a genetic disorder that causes her body to degenerate, and a nerve condition that affects her eyesight.<ref name="smash">Wang Meng Meng, "Yip smashes two world records for the disabled", ''[[The Straits Times]]'', 28 May 2008.</ref> When she was five, she started swimming to improve her health and strengthen her muscles.<ref name="stroke">Mindy Tan, "She misses gold with a stroke", ''The New Paper'', 15 September 2008.</ref> Nevertheless, by the age of 11, she had lost her ability to walk and had to use a wheelchair.<ref name="thewonder">"The wonder of Pin Xiu", ''[[Today (Singapore newspaper)|TODAY]]'', 7 June 2008.</ref><ref name="like">Sim Chi Yin, "I like the way I am now", ''The Straits Times'', 17 September 2008.</ref> She is the youngest of three children<ref name="stroke"/> to her parents; her father sells oil refinery hardware,<ref name="hooray"/> while her mother is a senior officer at [[Singapore Airlines]].<ref name="like"/> She studied in [[Ai Tong Primary School]] and [[Bendemeer Secondary School]].<ref name="stroke"/>


==Swimming career==
==Swimming career==
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**[http://www.teamsingapore.com.sg/publish/teamsingapore/en/games/Paralympics/paralympics/paralympics/our_athletes.detail.html?athleteID=1649 Yip Pin Xiu on the Team Singapore website]
**[http://www.teamsingapore.com.sg/publish/teamsingapore/en/games/Paralympics/paralympics/paralympics/our_athletes.detail.html?athleteID=1649 Yip Pin Xiu on the Team Singapore website]
*[http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/BIO/Athlete/3/1203573.shtml Yip Pin Xiu at the official website of the 2008 Summer Paralympics]
*[http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/BIO/Athlete/3/1203573.shtml Yip Pin Xiu at the official website of the 2008 Summer Paralympics]
*{{citation|title={{lang|zh|组图：女子50米仰泳S3级 新加坡选手叶品秀夺冠}} &#91;Group of Photographs: Women's 50&nbsp;metres backstroke S3 class: Singaporean contestant Yip Pin Xiu seizes first place&#93;|url=http://paralympic.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/swimming/n214604504.shtml|publisher=[[2008 Summer Paralympics|Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games]], [[Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games|Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad]]|date=15 September 2008|accessdate=4 December 2008}}


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Revision as of 06:21, 8 December 2008

Yip Pin Xiu is a Singaporean backstroke swimmer. She has muscular dystrophy and competes in the S3 category for the physically impaired. At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, she won a gold medal in the 50m backstroke and a silver medal in the 50m freestyle. She set world records in both events.

Early years and personal life

Yip was born with muscular dystrophy,[1] a genetic disorder that causes her body to degenerate, and a nerve condition that affects her eyesight.[2] When she was five, she started swimming to improve her health and strengthen her muscles.[3] Nevertheless, by the age of 11, she had lost her ability to walk and had to use a wheelchair.[4][5] She is the youngest of three children[3] to her parents; her father sells oil refinery hardware,[1] while her mother is a senior officer at Singapore Airlines.[5] She studied in Ai Tong Primary School and Bendemeer Secondary School.[3]

Swimming career

Yip started swimming competitively when she was 12 years of age.[4] Her coach is former Singaporean Olympic swimmer Ang Peng Siong,[5][6] while fellow Paralympic swimmer Theresa Goh is her close friend and role model.[4] After losing her ability to kick, Yip switched from the front crawl to the backstroke and was reclassified from the S5 to the S3 category.[5] She has said: "I've never wished I could kick again. I like the way I am now. I enjoy being me. If I could kick, I might not even be world record-holder in three events."[5]

In August 2007, Yip participated in the Paralympic Swimming Championships and netted a gold medal in the 100 metres freestyle, with a time of 2 minutes 17.29 seconds.[7] The following month, she won four gold medals and set three personal bests at the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games 2007.[8] She was named Sportsgirl of the Year at the Sports Superstar Awards 2007, an event organised by the Singapore Disability Sports Council.[2]

At the 4th ASEAN ParaGames, Yip finished first in the women's 150 metres individual medley, clocking 4 minutes 56.34 seconds.[2] She set a world record time of 1 minute 00.80 seconds in the 50 metres backstroke at the US Paralympic swimming trials.[6][4] The 22nd International German Paralympic Swimming Championships saw her set a world record of 2 minutes 10.09 seconds in the 100 metres backstroke heats; in the finals, she bagged the gold medal with a time of 2 minutes 08.09 seconds, bettering her own world record.[2][6]

Yip started her 2008 Summer Paralympic Games campaign by breaking another world record, clocking 57.04 seconds in the women's 50 metres freestyle heats.[3][9] However, she was narrowly beaten by Mexican swimmer Patricia Valle in the finals, clinching a silver medal with a time of 57.43 seconds.[3][9] In the women's 50 metres backstroke heats, she posted a time of 57.92 seconds, taking two seconds off her own world record.[9][10] She then swam the women's 50 metres backstroke finals in a time of 58.75 seconds to win the gold medal.[9][10] After she returned to Singapore, Yip was awarded the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal).[11] She said she was "probably, for sure, very likely lah" competing in the 2012 Summer Paralympics,[5] but had to focus on her upcoming O-levels first.[1][11]

The success of Yip and Laurentia Tan, who won two bronze medals in equestrian events,[10][11] was considered a milestone that would raise awareness and change mindsets towards the disabled in Singapore.[12] Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan said their accomplishments would "remind all Singaporeans that there are disabled people in our midst who have high hopes, high dreams and deserve our fullest support".[12] Their achievements also sparked public debate about the treatment and recognition of disabled athletes in Singapore.[13] Letters to The Straits Times criticised the poor coverage of the Paralympics.[13] Many Singaporeans also commented about the disparity of the cash awards handed out by the government:[13] S$1,000,000 for an Olympic gold (under the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme) and S$100,000 for a Paralympic gold (under the Athlete Achievement Awards scheme).[12][14][15]

When the issues were raised in Parliament, MCYS parliamentary secretary Teo Ser Luck said that the cash rewards were sponsored by the private sector.[13][15] He promised to study plans to give disabled athletes greater support and to include them in sporting programmes such as Project 0812.[12][15] Two months later, the cash rewards for Paralympic medals were doubled.[14] Funding for the Singapore National Paralympic Council was also increased.[14]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Teh Jen Lee, "Yip, yip, hooray!", The New Paper, 24 September 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d Wang Meng Meng, "Yip smashes two world records for the disabled", The Straits Times, 28 May 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e Mindy Tan, "She misses gold with a stroke", The New Paper, 15 September 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d "The wonder of Pin Xiu", TODAY, 7 June 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Sim Chi Yin, "I like the way I am now", The Straits Times, 17 September 2008.
  6. ^ a b c "World record fighter", The New Paper, 2 June 2008.
  7. ^ "Theresa stars", TODAY, 21 August 2007.
  8. ^ "S'poreans shine at world meet", TODAY, 21 September 2007.
  9. ^ a b c d "Singapore swimmer Yip clinches gold in 50m backstroke", Channel NewsAsia, 15 September 2008.
  10. ^ a b c "Swimmer Yip Pin Xiu is Singapore's golden girl", Channel NewsAsia, 16 September 2008.
  11. ^ a b c Chia Han Keong, "Paralympian wonder girls", my paper, 22 September 2008.
  12. ^ a b c d Sim Chi Yin, "More aid on the cards for disabled", The Sunday Times, 14 September 2008.
  13. ^ a b c d Jeremy Auyong, "Unequal rewards can be made fairer", The Straits Times, 19 September 2008.
  14. ^ a b c Jeanette Wang, "More for medalists", The Straits Times, 22 November 2008.
  15. ^ a b c Tan Yo-Hinn, "Paralympic hopefuls in line for more support", TODAY, 17 September 2008.

External links

Template:Persondata

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