Many people believe in me more than I believe in myself: Yip Pin Xiu after gold No. 2 at Paris 2024

SINGAPORE – As the magnitude of her Paralympic feat sank in, Singapore swimmer Yip Pin Xiu was keen to express gratitude for two things.

The outpouring of support from people with more belief in her than she had in herself, and the fact that she was still able to bring glory to her country.

Clocking 1min 5.99sec in the 50m backstroke S2 on Aug 31, Yip finished ahead of Haidee Aceves (1:08.96) of Mexico and Spain’s Teresa Perales (1:10.95) at the La Defense Arena to clinch a second gold at Paris 2024, two days after pipping Aceves to the 100m backstroke S2 title by 0.06 of a second.

In the process, the 32-year-old achieved a special three-peat of back-to-back titles in both events from Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

She now has seven golds and a silver across five editions of the Paralympics, with her first gold coming in the 50m backstroke at Beijing 2008, when she was still competing in the S3 class. 

In para sports, athletes are grouped by the degree of activity limitation resulting from the impairment. The lower the number, the more severe the impairment. 

Yip, who has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a condition which leads to a progressive weakening of the muscles, said: “I think a lot of people believed that I could do it more than I believed in myself and I’m just so grateful for the outpouring of support and that I’m still able to do this for Singapore.

“And I think making it a three-peat for both the events was pretty crazy, I wasn’t expecting that, but I was just going into the Games to do my very best and show the world what we can do, even though we are a small country.”

Yip had clocked 1:05.06 earlier in her heat to finish ahead of Aceves (1:08.75) and Italy’s Angela Procida (1:08.79) in the 11-strong field.

She admitted that she had “less pressure” heading into the 50m race, but also attributed her win to a switch in strategy.

A relaxed Yip, who was grooving to the music after collecting her gold medal, said: “This time round, with it being a three-year cycle rather than a four-year one, our training strategies were a bit different, so maybe that’s why my 50m was (won) by a greater margin.

“I did have less pressure for the 50m, I was going in with the mindset not of ‘I was going to win’ but more of whatever happens, happens, and to be able to get to the end of it with these two victories under our belts, there’s nothing else I can ask for.”

Her coach Mick Massey praised her for her feats, noting that the mental stress of preparing for the Paralympics can have a serious impact on mental health.

“The re-set process can take many weeks. PX has sacrificed two to three years of family, close friend downtime. We now start the gradual process of re-building,” he added.

“Finding that enthusiasm for the challenges ahead, and doing it repeatedly, year on year, is what separates good from great.”

Yip’s victory prompted a flurry of congratulatory messages on social media on Sept 1.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam posted on Facebook: “Yip Pin Xiu is amazing. But she must not be the last. We can and must nurture more athletes who brave the odds. Win or lose, it’s that courage and determination that matters.”

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong lauded her feat, adding: “Our Paralympians are defying the odds, breaking barriers, and making us proud! Let’s continue to cheer them on!”

Her double gold from Paris will see her collect a total of $1 million as part of the Singapore National Paralympic Council’s (SNPC) Athletes Achievement Awards scheme. In 2022, the cash incentive for a Paralympic gold medal was raised from $400,000 to $500,000 – which is half the payout for an Olympic gold – until the Paris Games.

Yip, who had also won both events for three straight world championships, had earlier told The Straits Times that she will definitely be competing in 2025, when the Sept 21-27 World Para Swimming Championships will be held in Singapore.

As for whether these would be her last Paralympics, she said: “At this point in time, I don’t know if I have the appetite for another one, but I just need to take a good long break and we’ll see after that.

“I’m still very passionate about the sport, not only in swimming (myself), but to help other people do well in it.”