Touching home first

BEIJING: Yip Pin Xiu stared high into the Water Cube's bubble ceiling as the Singapore flag was raised in her honour.

For the first time, Majulah Singapura was being played inside an Olympic arena - and never had the national anthem sounded so sweet.

Up in the stands, the Paralympic swimmer's proud parents, Singapore officials and supporters sang with pride, the historic moment enough to reduce some to tears.

But back on the winner's podium, the 16-year-old who had just accomplished what no Singaporean Olympian or Paralympian had before her simply smiled from her wheelchair.

The Bendemeer Secondary School student was not even born when Singapore made its Paralympics debut in 1988, let alone remember stories of Singapore's Olympics exploits since the 1948 London Games.

But over 50m in the backstroke, in just under a minute at Beijing's Water Cube National Aquatic Centre, she accomplished a feat that will last a long, long time.

'I'm excited to win Singapore's first gold,' said Pin Xiu, who started swimming when she was five, but started competing only four years ago.

'I'm only 16, yet I have gotten a Paralympic gold medal which has been my dream for some time.'

She touched home in 58.75 seconds, leaving second-placed British swimmer Fran Williamson a good 7.32sec and seven metres behind.

Her final took place at 6.12pm, but the wait for the Singapore camp had started much earlier.

She had already smashed her own (S3) world record in the morning heats, clocking a new best of 57.92, to better her 1min 0.80sec time set in April. Naturally, that fuelled expectations of a historic gold.

Said her mother Margaret Chong: 'My heart was going pik pok, pik pok. She and her coach Ang Peng Siong were confident of a win but I was still a bit scared.

'In Saturday's race, she broke the world record in the heats but ended up second in the final.'

Happily, there was no repeat of Saturday's 50m freestyle.

Like she had done a thousand times in training, the teenager flung her arms into the water once swim team manager Danny Ong let go of her wrists at the starting block, arched her back and whipped her arms backwards about 100 times to cover the length of the pool.

She was not the first out of the blocks. But, in a flash, she bolted into the lead and never relinquished it, chopping through the water with her helicopter-blade-like arms and clenched hands.

With her head almost submerged, her fist-like hands smacked the water repeatedly, her bone-thin, limp legs in tow.

It takes an able-bodied swimmer, using their palms and forearms like oars, about just 30 strokes to cover that same distance.

As Pin Xiu neared the wall, the pockets of Singaporeans in the capacity crowd shouted themselves hoarse, standing in front of Singapore flags.

The first emotion Pin Xiu showed as her hands hit the wall first was relief.

'My first thought was I'm finally done with it!' said Pin Xiu, who had been suffering from cramps during the day.

It took a while for her accomplishment to register.

The teenager, who was born with muscular dystrophy, may look an unlikely athlete to bag Singapore's first Olympic-level gold medal.

But Pin Xiu has been swimming faster and faster this year, clocking world records even in training, said coach and former Olympic swimmer Ang.

With her gold in Singapore's final event, the team of six local Paralympians have posted the Republic's best showing in 20 years of participating in these Games.

Equestrian rider Laurentia Tan won two bronzes in her events in Hong Kong.

Despite her golden feat, some are already asking if Pin Xiu will be around to do Singapore proud again by the time the London Games roll around.

She is getting physically weaker by the day as her skeletal muscles degenerate progressively.

Singapore Sports Council chief executive Oon Jin Teik, who cheered from the stands, said: 'There is a deeper emotion to this win, especially as Pin Xiu's condition is sliding.'

Pin Xiu herself is sure she will make it. She said: '2012, I'll be there.'

Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports) Teo Ser Luck said: 'We'll support her as much as possible, as long as she wants to be there.'

For now, it is time to just celebrate, said Singapore National Paralympic Council chairman Tan Ju Seng.

'We all wanted this so much for Pin Xiu. And now that she's got it, no one can take it away from her,' he said.