SMU School of Social Sciences undergraduate and para-swimmer Yip Pin Xiu was named the Straits Times’ Athlete of the year 2015 in a gala ceremony last Friday. She edged out fellow nominees Shayna Ng (bowling), Shanti Pereira (athletics), Khairul Anwar (para-football) and 2014 winner Joseph Schooling (swimming) to become the second para-athlete to win the prestigious annual award. She received her award from Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, who paid tribute to Yip's accomplishments - the S2 swimmer had raced and beaten competitors three classes more mobile than her in the S5 50m backstroke event at last December's Asean Para Games. "Winning this award to me means that the para-athletes and able-bodied athletes in Singapore are more or less considered equal now to the general public and I'm very, very honoured to be a part of this,” Yip noted.