Story by Jan Lin/Red Sports

Eindhoven, Sunday, August 15, 2010 — While Singapore’s best youth athletes are battling for Olympic glory at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the nation’s first Paralympics champion, Yip Pin Xiu, has bagged a gold medal at the 2010 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Held once every four years since 1998, the IPC Swimming World Championships are the world championships for paralympic athletes in swimming and are attended by more than 800 competitors. In 2010, the Championships are held from 15 to 21 August.

17-year-old Pin Xiu is the current world record holder of the women’s 50m freestyle (S3 class) event, which she set at the heats of the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Pin Xiu had to settle for silver in Beijing after Mexico’s Patricia Valle edged her out in the final.

In Eindhoven, Pin Xiu finished ahead of the pack in the heats with a time of 1:00.87, before clinching gold in the final with a time of 1:03.17. Britain’s former world record holder Fran Williamson finished second, while veteran Annke Conradi of Germany took the bronze.

The second year Republic Polytechnic student was awarded the prestigious Singapore Youth Award (sports and adventure category) in June, and her new World title cannot be better timed as the nation’s YOG representatives can turn to her success as a source of inspiration.

Pin Xiu will look to repeat her Paralympic gold-medal performance in her pet event, 50m backstroke (S3 class), on Tuesday.