Yip Pin Xiu continued her successful showing at the 2016 Rio Paralympics by clinching her second gold medal on 15 September.
The Singapore swimmer won the Women's (S2) 50m backstroke final at the Olympic Aquatic Stadium. Yip also became the only Paralympian from the country to win more than one gold medal at a Games.
She won her first gold medal in Rio de Janeiro on 10 September when broke her own world record in the Women's (S2) 100m backstroke and touched the wall in 2:07.09s. Singapore's medal tally at the ongoing Games now reads three as teammate Theresa Goh also won a bronze in the Women's SB4 100m backstroke on Monday.
On Friday, after being touted as the favourite to win the 50m event, Yip eased through to victory in 1:00.33s. China's Feng Yazhu, the London Paralympics gold medallist in the event, took silver in 1:02.66s, Ukraine's Iryna Sotska clinching the silver in 1:17.22s. Notably, the same trio finished on the podium in 100m S2 backstroke.
Yip, who has been suffering from muscular dystrophy - a condition that weakens her muscles, has now taken her Paralympic medal tally to four. She won the country's first Paralympic medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. The 24-year-old bagged a gold in the Women's (S3) 50m backstroke and a bronze in the 50m freestyle events in Beijing.
Singapore president Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam heaped praise on the swimmer and called her resilience and tenacity "amazing". He also gave a glimpse of what Yip had been through over the years and how she had overcome her hurdles.
