Singapore's Yip Pin Xiu wins second gold medal at Tokyo Paralympics
Singapore's Yip Pin Xiu has clinched her second gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics, after she retained her women's S2 50m backstroke title in a season-best 1min 02.04sec on Thursday (Sept 2), finishing ahead of Japan's Miyuki Yamada (1:06.98) and China's Feng Yazhu (1:11.55) .
This is the fifth Paralympic gold medal in Yip's sporting career. Last week, the 29-year-old had also retained her S2 100m backstroke title in 2:16.61, adding to her haul from Beijing 2008 (one) and Rio 2016 (two).
Yip, who has muscular dystrophy, is also a world record holder in the S2 50m backstroke, following her gold-winning effort in Rio de Janeiro five years ago in 59.38sec.
She had topped the S2 50m backstroke heats with a 1:03.61 effort at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in the morning, ahead of Yamada (1:09.44) and Mexico's Fabiolo Ramirez (1:12.59), who finished fourth in the final.
"This year is a bit different in the sense that it is a five-year cycle, and the past two years have been so uncertain," said Yip.
"I am really grateful that the Games happened and very grateful that I am sitting here at the end of the day with two gold medals. To me, it feels very special because we've learnt to adapt in the face of uncertainty and I think with the entire Singapore cheering me on, it's been really amazing."
Despite having just completed campaign, Yip is already casting an eye on Paris 2024, saying: "I do want to go to Paris and we'll see how the next three years turn out. It's exciting, three years is very short, we have to dive straight into it. After all the hard work, after a very tiring cycle, I am still very excited about it."
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