8 things to know about Paralympian Yip Pin Xiu, Singapore's youngest NMP

Former Her World Young Woman Achiever of the Year winner Yip Pin Xiu is going from the swimming pool to Parliament, as she makes history as Singapore’s youngest Nominated Member of Parliament at age 26. Actress, author and local personality Eunice Olsen previously held this record when she was nominated at age 27 in 2004. 

Yip suffers from muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder which slowly breaks down the muscles and also affects her eyesight. The Team Singapore swimmer and seven-time record holder has been winning medals for Singapore since 2005, and has won gold in both the Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in the 50m backstroke S2, as well as a gold in Rio for the 100m backstroke S2.

She was our Young Woman Achiever of the Year in 2008, when she won her first Paralympic gold in Beijing. It wasn't just a first for her, but also for Singapore. 

As to why she and under 30 nominee Abbas Ali Mohamed Irshad were nominated to be NMPs, Leader of the House and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said, "They will enrich debate by bringing the voices of the youth to the House," in an interview in The Straits Times.

Yip was quoted in the same interview as saying: "I hope to use my experience in the sporting arena as an athlete to make our sporting culture a more vibrant one. I also hope to bring a fresh voice for youth and speak up for equality." 

In light of her recent nomination, here's some things you might want to know about this new NMP.

1. Yip started to compete competitively at age 12

Play

2. She had already collected a whopping 38 gold medals from various competitions by 2008, the year she won gold at the Beijing Paralympics

Photo: The Straits Times

3. Instead of deferring her O’Levels, she chose to study and compete for the Beijing Paralympics - and succeeded at both

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yip Pin Xiu (@yippinxiu) on Apr 24, 2018 at 1:34am PDT

4. She’s BFFs with fellow medalist and Paralympian swimmer Theresa Goh

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yip Pin Xiu (@yippinxiu) on Feb 6, 2018 at 3:36am PST

READ MORE: TRUE STORY: HOW YIP PIN XIU TOOK MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY IN HER STRIDE AND BECAME SINGAPORE'S MOST SUCCESSFUL PARALYMPIAN.

5. She broke the world record for both the 50m S2 and 100m S2 backstroke at the Rio Paralympics 2016… Both of which were previously held by herself  

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yip Pin Xiu (@yippinxiu) on Sep 17, 2016 at 7:40pm PDT

6. She met Prince Charles and Camilla when she took part in the Queen’s Baton Relay in 2017

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yip Pin Xiu (@yippinxiu) on Nov 3, 2017 at 5:51am PDT

7. She’s often called to speak at forums, both locally and abroad, where she talks about the Paralympian movement  

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yip Pin Xiu (@yippinxiu) on Jun 12, 2017 at 1:15pm PDT

8. In 2016 SMU created the Yip Pin Xiu scholarship in her name, their first-ever full sports scholarship. Yip is an alumnus of SMU, having graduated with a degree in social science 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yip Pin Xiu (@yippinxiu) on Apr 24, 2017 at 8:33pm PDT

9.  A highly driven and positive person, Yip has always been vocal about her dreams of giving back to the para-sports community and young athletes, such as through sharing sessions that will help them become better athletes and to show them a career in sports is just the beginning

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yip Pin Xiu (@yippinxiu) on Apr 25, 2018 at 5:26pm PDT

We can't wait to see what she achieves once she's sworn in as NMP on September 26.