SINGAPORE – Barely hours after touching down in Singapore on Wednesday (Sept 21), Singapore’s Paralympic medallists Yip Pin Xiu and Theresa Goh were whisked away to a press conference, where they touched on the debate on whether Paralympians and Olympians should receive the same monetary rewards.
Speaking to the media at the Sports Hub’s Black Box Auditorium, Goh said the prize money is not their motivating factor as “if it were, I’d have quit a long time ago”.
She added: “If it (equal prize money) comes to us, it comes to us… What we want is equality but it doesn’t have to be about that (the money),” said Goh.
Singapore’s Joseph Schooling was awarded $1 million for his gold-medal win in Rio, while the prize money for a Paralympic gold medal is $200,000.
During the press conference, Yip also noted that through her years of swimming, “there’s been progress in how people view para sports and the awareness”, and “we are quite thankful for everything that is happening”.
Photo GalleryFans welcome Team Singapore’s Paralympians
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On her achievements, the three-time Paralympic gold medallist encouraged others to chase their dreams and “not be afraid to dream big”.
“Many years ago we had a dream, and now we’re finally there. (So) find a dream, work really hard towards it, and maybe one day you might get there.
“Even if you don’t get there, the journey will be memorable and you’ll learn a lot along the way,” said Yip.
The group of Paralympains touched down at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on Singapore Airlines flight SQ 67 on Wednesday morning. They were greeted with a warm reception by more than 100 fans as they returned home, reported The Straits Times.
13 athletes will zip around town in supercars on Sat (Sept 24) after recording the Republic’s best showing at the Paralympic Games in Rio.
candicec@sph.com.sg
