Goh takes bronze in pet event to win her first Paralympics medal

SINGAPORE – After 12 years of heartbreak, National para-swimmer Theresa Goh has won her first-ever Paralympics medal on Monday morning (Sept 12, Singapore time), taking bronze in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB final.

At the Olympic Aquatic Stadium in Rio De Janeiro, the 29-year-old touched home in 1min 55.55s to finish third in the eight-strong field in the final of her pet event. 

Norway's Sarah Louise Rung, the world record holder in the event, took the gold medal in 1:44.94, while Italy's Giulia Ghiretti finished second (1:50.58).

Goh, a four-time Paralympian (2004 – 2016), had entered the 100m breaststroke SB4 final as a strong medal contender, after qualifying as second-fastest behind Rung in a new Asian record time of 1:54.50. That effort erased her old Asian mark of 1:59.99 which she set in May. It was her first sub-2min timing in nine years.

The Singaporean had last gone under the 2-minute mark in the 100m breaststroke SB4 in 2007 at the International German Championships in Berlin, where she clocked a then-personal best of 1:58.14. The time remained unbroken until Sunday in the heats of the event at the 2016 Paralympics.

Goh, whose sporting career spanned 16 years and 27 Asean Para Games gold medals, had come close to clinching a medal in her pet event at previous editions of the Paralympic Games. She finished fifth in the event in 2004 at Athens, and fourth in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.

Goh, who is entered in four events at the 2016 Paralympics, had surprised everyone when she swam the breaststroke during the first leg of her 200m freestyle S5 heat last Thursday. She eventually finished last overall in the 12-strong field. But she revealed later to TODAY that her move to do so was her way of mentally and psychologically preparing for her 100m breaststroke SB4 event.

She said then: “That was confusing to some, but it was intentional. It was good. I kind of always need that first race to get my nerves out of the way a little bit. My coach and I had a plan which was to use the race to benefit me for my next race. So that time for the first 50m breaststroke (52.99sec) is a good indication of what I can go out over the 100m.”

Goh’s decision was vindicated by her result this morning, which broke her medal duck in the event.

Goh’s third-placed finish means that Team Singapore now has a gold and a bronze at the 2016 Paralympics (Sept 7-18). Fellow para-swimmer Yip Pin Xiu had delivered gold in a world record time in the 100m backstroke S2 on Saturday.

And there could be more medals to come from Goh and Yip. Goh is penciled in for two more events in Rio: the women’s 50m freestyle S5 (heats, 11pm, tonight, Singapore time) and the 100m freestyle S5 on Saturday. Yip is scheduled to swim in the 50m backstroke S2 on Friday.