Over the weekend, Team Singapore para swimmers took on their first competition of the year.
And the team came home with stunning results, achieving three gold and four bronzes at the Citi Para Swimming World Series 2023 Melbourne.
The medals were won by Paralympic champion Yip Pin Xiu, siblings Sophie Soon Jin Wen and Colin Soon Jin Guang, as well as Toh Wei Soong and Danielle Moi Yan Ting.
Source: Singapore Disability Sports Council on Facebook
Besides that, Darren Chan Wei Siang and Wong Zhi Wei also set new personal bests at the swim meet.
On the first day of the competition, decorated Paralympian swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, born with muscular dystrophy, clinched the gold medal in the Women’s 100m Backstroke multi-class event.
Yip later secured her second gold medal in the women’s 50m backstroke on the final day of the competition.
With a timing of 1min 3.7secs, she finished 197 points ahead of silver medalists He Shenggao of China and New Zealander Erin Knox.
25-year-old Sophie Soon, who is visually impaired, also took the number one spot in the Women’s 50m Breaststroke Multi-class event.
Her younger brother, Colin Soon, managed to clinch bronze in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke Multi-class event.
According to the Singapore Disability Sports Council, on day two of the competition, Toh Wei Soong, who has transverse myelitis, a chronic condition restricting the use of his legs, earned bronze in the Men’s 50m Free Multi-class event.
Source: Singapore Disability Sports Council on Facebook
Wei Soong won his second bronze medal in the 50m Butterfly event on day three of the competition.
Danielle Moi Yan Ting, who has an intellectual impairment, rounded up Singapore’s tally with another bronze medal in the Women’s 200m Free.
Source: Singapore Disability Sports Council on Facebook
This was the 23-year-old’s first series medal, reported The Straits Times (ST).
Yip, 31, said considering it’s just the start of the season and she was coming back from an injury in November, she is “rather pleased” with the timings she clocked.
Source: Singapore Disability Sports Council on Facebook
Yip has won Singapore five Paralympic gold medals in her swimming career.
Speaking to ST, she said all the swim meets happening in the next one and a half years will be in preparation for the Paris Paralympics.
“We will continue to work really hard and improve ourselves in training, to get to our goals in Paris 2024,” remarked the 31-year-old.
The Citi Para Swimming World Series 2023 Melbourne is the opening leg of the competition.
There will be meets in nine other countries. The Singapore meet will take place from 29 Apr to 1 May.
According to ST, besides the Italy stop from 9 Mar to 12 Mar, Singapore will compete in the other meets.
The next competition will take place in Great Britain from 16 Mar to 19 Mar.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Disability Sports Council on Facebook.
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