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PM Lee, President Tony Tan hail Yip Pin Xiu for her tenacity and resilience

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Tony Tan Keng Yam have taken to Facebook once again to congratulate Yip Pin Xiu on her second gold-medal win at the Rio Paralympics.

Yip Pin Xiu competes at the Women's 50m Backstroke (S2 Final) during Day 8 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on Sept 15, 2016 (Friday, SGT) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Getty Images

Yip Pin Xiu competes at the Women's 50m Backstroke (S2 Final) during Day 8 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on Sept 15, 2016 (Friday, SGT) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Getty Images

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SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Tony Tan Keng Yam have taken to Facebook once again to congratulate Yip Pin Xiu on her second gold-medal win at the Rio Paralympics.

In his post, PM Lee congratulated Yip for setting a new sporting milestone by becoming the first Singapore Paralympian to win multiple gold medals at the Games.

(Click to enlarge. Source: Lee Hsien Loong/Facebook)

“Pin Xiu is the first Singaporean to win multiple gold medals at the Games. Last week, she won the 100m backstroke S2 with a new world record. Well done Pin Xiu! The Games are not over yet. To all our Team Singapore athletes — press on, we are all cheering for you!”

In a slightly longer post, Dr Tan hailed Yip for her tenacity and resilience in constantly overcoming her muscular dystrophy to continually set new standards in sporting excellence.

“Pin Xiu’s sporting journey was not easy. Born with muscular dystrophy, which degenerates her muscles over time, as well as a nerve condition which impairs her eyesight, Pin Xiu has been re-classified in various sporting categories over the years — from S3 to S2 as her muscular dystrophy progressively weakened her muscles,” wrote Dr Tan.

“Yet, she has continued to make waves in the water, winning medals for her backstroke and freestyle events since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This year in Rio, Pin Xiu once again inspires us by breaking two world records and winning two Gold medals!

“Where others may have given up, Pin Xiu presses on, even in the face of increasing difficulties. Pin Xiu, your resilience and tenacity are amazing. Your hard work and dedication have paid off and you have done Singapore proud with your performance in Rio!”

After her race on Friday morning (Sept 16), an emotional Yip described herself as ‘speechless” and she was seen wiping tears from her eyes as she tried to express her thoughts.

“I’m speechless. I don’t think any word can describe my emotions now because there are so many emotions going on,” she said in a video clip supplied by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.

“I’m so grateful for Singaporeans supporting us. Thank you. The support (the nation) have shown us in the past week has been enormous. I think this support (for para-athletes) has been massive and we’re so grateful for it. Hopefully this (support) will continue.”

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