Yip Pin Xiu is no stranger to success.

Singapore's first-ever Paralympic gold medallist, the swimmer arrived home from Paris in the breathless wake of two gold medals, in the women's 50m and 100m backstroke events.

Speaking at the start of her victory parade on Sep. 14, Yip said her wins felt "phenomenal".

"Sometimes I find it difficult to even describe how it feels, to be able to three-peat these two events, which means almost nine years of being at the top of this class and this race," she told the media.

The five-time Paralympian also claimed two golds in 2016, and again in 2020.

But she added that she wants to always set new goals and not just limit herself to "repeats or three-peats".

"And then we'll just see where we can go," she said.

"But I'm extremely happy to be able to do this for Singapore once again, and just really, really glad that all our hard work over the years has come to fruition."

Dealing with fear

Despite her track record, Yip also admitted that she had "a lot of sleepless nights before the race".

"This time round, it was really, really difficult for me to deal with it," she said.

She added that she suffered from "sleep obsession", which is when one thinks obsessively about falling asleep, and as a result, fail to do it.

To combat this, she tried breathing exercises, guide and meditation apps, and reading a book.

"Hit-and-miss, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't," she admitted.

In preparing for competitions, Yip also has a pre-competition routine that spans almost three hours.

This includes going to the pool, warming up, and, interestingly, wearing heated socks, which she finds "helpful".

She also listens to music, which includes a "Warrior Brain" playlist, as long as it is Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and indie.

Ultimately, however, performing well is a matter of acknowledging and dealing with fear and stress, Yip said.

"Feel the stress, do what you need to do," she advised.

"And then results will come. Because you have already done everything you can to prepare for it."

Victory parade

All 10 of the Team Singapore Paralympians were present at the morning's parade, including silver medallist Jeralyn Tan.

Tan won Singapore's first-ever Paralympic boccia medal, and is Singapore's fourth Paralympic medallist.

Speaking to the media, Tan said her next target is to make it to Los Angeles for the next Paralympics in 2028.

"I want to get a gold medal [for] Singapore," she said.

She also thanked her supporters and addressed aspiring athletes, encouraging them to "work hard, and never give up, and keep going".

Top image by Mothership