Yip Pin Xiu

Yip Pin Xiu was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, a condition that causes progressive muscle weakness, when she was two years old. She began swimming at five, simply as a weekly family activity with her brothers, at an age when the disease had not yet taken her ability to walk. By 13 she could no longer walk unaided and used a wheelchair full time, but by then a volunteer with the Singapore Disability Sports Council had already noticed her in the water and encouraged her to start competing.

She made the Singapore team for the Beijing 2008 Paralympics at 16, the youngest athlete in the squad, and won gold in the 50 metres backstroke along with a silver in the 50 metres freestyle, setting world records in both. It was Singapore's first ever gold medal at an Olympic-level Games, arriving before the country's Olympic team had managed one.

She went on to compete at four more Paralympics, winning further backstroke golds in Rio in 2016 and again in Tokyo and Paris, becoming Southeast Asia's most decorated Paralympic swimmer with seven Paralympic gold medals in total.

Alongside her swimming she completed a social science degree at Singapore Management University and, in 2018, became the country's youngest Nominated Member of Parliament at 26, using the platform to push for better support and accessibility for people with disabilities in Singapore.