SINGAPORE — Anywhere in Singapore, any mention of para sport and swimmer Yip Pin Xiu's name will inevitably come up.
The 32-year-old, whose burgeoning trophy cabinet includes five Paralympic gold medals, is easily one of the country's most recognisable para-athletes.
Behind all her success, said Yip, is one moment that defines her career and set her on this path.
"Rio 2016 really was the point for me, where it kind of showed me what consistency looks like. After winning in Beijing (2008), I took some time off, went to study, and didn't really know what I wanted to do. It took me a long time to realise that I still wanted to chase glory for my country," said the veteran swimmer, who has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease which causes the progressive loss of muscle tissue and touch.
"Winning a medal and breaking the world record — It's like the one big defining moment that showed that, at that point in time, I was older than I was in Beijing and I managed to swim faster than I ever did. It broke my own perception and my own boundaries of what I thought I could do."
Yip will head into her fifth Paralympics to test those boundaries again, as she is aiming for a special three-peat of back-to-back golds in the 50m and 100m backstroke S2 after claiming both titles at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
With world records and medals has also come pressure, as the chirpy swimmer, who is often seen with a smile on her face, shared the struggles that she has been through in recent years.
"A lot of people see the victories but they don't see the difficult part behind it. As cliche as it sounds, the blood, sweat and tears that go on behind it," said Yip.
"After my last competition in France, (the result) wasn't what I expected, so at the end of the trip, I was crying in the changing room."
She is not a person who cries very often, said Yip, but she admitted that the emotions from racing have got the better of her in recent times.
"I feel like when I got older, I felt more of it. When I was younger, it was very much just training very hard, trying very hard. When you're younger, you have the energy and the time. You don't really need to worry about anything else in the world.
"But everybody handles it very differently, whether you are in touch with your emotions or not, (some) get angry and just compress it down."
All athletes go through ups and downs in their careers, but Yip believes swimming has "given me so much", adding that it "really has shaped me as a person today".
When asked if she was excited about her fifth Games, Yip joked that she had finally beaten former para-swimmer and good friend Theresa Goh — who competed in four editions — but will only be on par with equestrienne Laurentia Tan, 45, on five.
She added: "People expect me to be like super seasoned and be like 'no kick', but no, I still go through the whole experience as if I am a new athlete, but the only difference is that with my experience, I know how to prepare a little bit better."
Only 16 when she made her debut at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, Yip has had an illustrious career with multiple gold medals at the Asean Para Games, Asian Para Games, Paralympics and world championships.
However, her journey is not over yet as she plans to continue swimming after the Paris Games.
She said: "It is a very tiring process and sometimes I do feel like I'm old and it's hard for recovery, my performance is not as consistent.
"It's very hard for me to answer (the question on retirement), but not this time around because we are hosting the world championships next year and I do want to race on home ground one more time, then after that, three years more, who knows?"
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
