Competitive swimmer and Paralympic gold medallist
Yip Pin Xiu is one of Singapore’s most celebrated athletes and for good reason. She made history at the 2008 Summer Paralympics by clinching a gold and silver medal in the 50 metres backstroke and freestyle respectively – also setting world records at the games. Years later, at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, she made Singapore proud again by earning a gold medal in the 100 metres S2 backstroke (another world record!) and one more gold in the 50 metres backstroke. Most recently, she nabbed two golds in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
She’s also made a splash outside the pool by being a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) in Singapore from 2018 to 2020. She was the vice-chairman of 2021’s The Purple Parade working committee, a national platform to raise awareness and celebrate persons with disabilities. And she’s currently part of the athlete committee for the World Anti-Doping Agency: a non-profit by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada that promotes and coordinates the fight against doping in sports.