Singapore para-swimmer Theresa Goh won the bronze medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB4 final on Monday (12 September), winning Singapore’s second medal of the Rio Paralympics after Yip Xiu Pin’s earlier gold in the 100m breaststroke
Goh who was born with spina bifida and is paralysed from the waist down, clocked 1:55.55 sec at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Goh’s SB4 category is for swimmers with a moderate level of disability, and includes people with full use of their arms and hands, but limited to no use of their trunk and legs. It also includes people with coordination problems.
In an interview with Straits Times after her event, she said: “I’m so stoked. It’s kind of really surreal to me right now. It feels like a dream honestly and I’m waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me up. It’s been a long time coming and I’m beyond happy that I’ve made it.
“I don’t know how I stuck in there for so long. 17 years in swimming, 8 years since I lost out on that medal in Beijing.
“But honestly it’s such a team effort. And I know I’ve said it too many times but without the team behind me, this would’ve been impossible.”
