SMU alumna Yip Pin Xiu, a winner of four Paralympic medals for swimming, was featured in an exclusive interview where she shared about her own personal convictions and hope on life as well as how she got started on swimming. Ms Yip, who has Charcot Marie Tooth – an inherited disorder that causes nerve damage and leads to progressive weakening of muscles – is unable to walk and uses a wheelchair.

Ms Yip, who started swimming at the age of six, made history by winning Singapore’s first Paralympic gold medal, as well as a silver, when she was just 16 years old. She added another accolade to her name last month when she released a book that tells of her remarkable Paralympic journey. “The Mermaid Who Became a Champion” is a 36-page children's book written by Ms Yip and Straits Times sports columnist Rohit Brijnath.