Yip Pin Xiu, teammates can’t wait for bus parade on Sept 14

When swimmer Sophie Soon returned to Singapore from the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, she was swiftly hustled into a van to start her mandatory two-week quarantine, which was in line with Covid-19 measures at the time.

On Sept 10, there was no sanitised hotel room waiting.

Instead, she and nine other Team Singapore athletes were able to bask in a warm welcome at Changi Airport.

Popular National Day song Home accompanied them as they walked into the arrival hall, cheered on by close to 100 family, friends and fans who showered them with hugs, flower bouquets, garlands and soft toys.

Soon, who is visually impaired, finished seventh in the 100m breaststroke SB12 final in Paris.

The 27-year-old said: “It’s really quite a stark contrast to what my last experience was. It’s... a heart-warming experience to see this amount of support.

“It encourages you to want to do your best. Even more so, it fuels you to want to go even further and try to reach better heights, because you know that you have a team rallying and supporting you.”

Soon was part of the 10-strong contingent who returned from the Paris Paralympics on Sept 10. They clinched three medals – two golds and a silver – in Singapore’s best showing at a Paralympics.

The previous best was at Rio 2016, where the Republic earned two golds and a bronze. In Tokyo three years ago, Singapore clinched two gold medals via swimmer Yip Pin Xiu.

Yip delivered yet again in Paris, retaining her S2 titles in the 50m and 100m backstroke events to make it the third successive Games in which the 32-year-old was crowned a double champion.

Fielding wefie requests in the arrival hall, Yip – who is Singapore’s most bemedalled para-athlete with seven golds and a silver at the Paralympics – was as delighted as her teammates with the support.

Calling the Tokyo Games’ supporter-less atmosphere an “ordeal we all had to go through”, she added: “To be able to see everybody in person... it’s really, really nice to be welcomed back home by such a nice crowd.”

After a packed lead-up to Paris that included training stints and competitions in Portugal, France, Australia and England, she is looking forward to some rest and showing her appreciation for those who have helped her in her journey.

Yip, who has a progressive nerve condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, said: “Even on the plane, I was already planning dates where I can really just thank the people around me, the people who have supported me on this journey, my sports scientists, people from Sport Singapore – just gather everybody to celebrate this entire journey. I am grateful and appreciative of them.”

For swimmer Toh Wei Soong, the warm welcome was a reminder of the unconditional support he has received despite a tough outing at these Games, where his campaign was “not exactly the best performances I wanted, but a great experience”.

The 25-year-old, who has transverse myelitis, a condition caused by the inflammation of the spinal cord, finished last out of eight swimmers in the men’s 50m butterfly S7 and 50m freestyle S7 finals.

He said: “I’m very grateful for the support I’ve received, both in the village, in the competition venue and back home. It’s always a great experience to come back and just have a local home crowd greeting you.”

A lot of that attention was also on Jeralyn Tan, who won a historic silver in boccia to become the nation’s fourth Paralympic medallist, after swimmers Yip and Theresa Goh, and equestrienne Laurentia Tan.

Jeralyn’s father Rayven, 62, and mother Elin Goh, 60, shared an embrace with their daughter on her arrival.

Tan, 35, who has cerebral palsy, said she was happy with her performance as “this is my first time (and) I got a silver medal at the Paralympics, so I feel great”.

The 10 para-athletes will go on an open-top bus parade on Sept 14, and chef de mission Ng Wee Chew hopes to see a good turnout from Singaporeans.

She said: “They’ve worked so hard over the past months and years for this.

“We are really looking forward to (the parade) and we call upon all Singaporeans to come celebrate, support and appreciate our athletes, coaches and the support team behind them.”

Soon cannot wait for the bus parade in four days’ time, adding: “It is going to be fun. I have actually never been on a bus parade before, so it is going to be exciting.

“I am going to bring Orinda (her guide dog) along, so there will be an extra cute face to look out for.”