Theresa Goh no longer sports the blonde-tinted mane from the Rio Paralympic Games. Instead, her head now boasts a multi-coloured hue of blonde, green, pink and purple.

She may be carrying a different look now, but the national para swimmer has not forgotten the cheers and euphoria that accompanied her lung-bursting feat in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB4 at Rio’s Olympic Aquatic Stadium, where she clinched her first-ever Paralympics medal — a bronze.

And the support from Singaporeans, family and friends is what will keep the veteran athlete going as she considers the next step in her 17-year swimming career. While Goh has yet to confirm her decision, the 29-year-old, who was born with congenital spina bifida, said yesterday she is leaning towards a fifth Paralympics appearance at the 2020 Games.

Speaking to the media after yesterday’s Parliament session yesterday, Goh said: “I’m leaning more towards continuing to Tokyo (Paralympics) ... I’m 60 to 70 per cent sure, but I’m really having a hard time deciding. I’m not sure if I want to continue training, go into a new sport, whether I want to take on a more administrative role or a role I feel I can help out, contribute my knowledge to.

“I feel that there is still a lot of potential there, in terms of being able to do something bigger than my sport, and I feel I have the opportunity to be there if I am continuing in my sport. At least, I want to participate in the Asean Para Games and Asian Para Games, at least for the next two years.”

Like her best friend Goh, three-time Paralympic gold medallist Yip Pin Xiu is happy to commit to competitive swimming for the next two years.

However, the 24-year-old, who won the women’s 50m and 100m backstroke S2 in Rio in world record times, is adopting a wait-and-see approach to the 2020 Tokyo Games as she will be returning to the Singapore Management University in January to complete her social sciences degree.

“The first few months will be tough balancing training and everything, but I know when I graduate, I would still want to swim competitively for one to two years,” said Yip, who has muscular dystrophy.

The swimmer can count on having Goh’s company, as she added: “If she continues and I’m still continuing, it would be nice to have somebody but of course if she wants to do something else with her life, I would encourage her to do so.

“It depends on where her passion lies and what she thinks she can do in the next couple of years.” LOW LIN FHOONG