Credit: SDSC
Seven-time Paralympic gold medallist Yip Pin Xiu delivered a strong performance at the 2025 Para Swimming World Series in Australia, clinching a bronze medal in the Women’s 200m Freestyle Multiclass finals. This marks her return to competition since the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
Clocking 4:57.58 and earning 850 World Para Swimming points, she narrowly missed out on silver by just two points to Australia’s Ruby Storm, who competed in the Paris 2024 Paralympics in the Women’s 200m Freestyle S14 event and finished in 7th place. The gold went to Australia’s Madeleine McTernan, who also competed and came in fifth place in the same event as Storm at the Games, with 873 points.
Having placed 8th in the heats with a time of 5:06.54, Yip, who has an S2 classification, said: “I don’t normally race in the 200m freestyle event but I think today, between the heats and the finals I had some improvements that my coach and I were really happy with. This being my first race after Paris is a really good start so that I’ll be ready for the World Championships in September.”
Her coach, Michael Massey, sees her performance as a strong indicator of her long-term development.
“The 200m Freestyle was an excellent result, as both the heat and final times show that our training efforts are paying off and it is a great confidence booster,” said Massey.
“The start of a new cycle is about getting back to basics. We’ve placed a big emphasis on the psychological aspect, preparing mentally for the journey ahead,” he added.
With this promising start to the year, the team is looking ahead to competing next at the Para Swimming World Series Fuji-Shizuoka this April. Other Team Singapore para swimmers Wong Zhi Wei, Danielle Moi, Sophie Soon, Colin Soon, and Darren Chan are also taking part in their first competition of the year at this World Series which is held in Melbourne from 14 to 16 February. Yip will be competing next in the 100m Backstroke Multiclass event on 16 February.
The World Para Swimming Series uses the Multi-Class Point System where each swimmer’s result is compared to the world record for their specific sport class and awarded points. The closer the performance is to the relevant record, the higher the points.
Link to Media Release
