![Laurentia Tan competes during the Individual Championship Test (Grade Ia) of Equestrian Events.[Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20080911/000bcdb95f1d0a33476d01.jpg "Laurentia Tan competes during the Individual Championship Test (Grade Ia) of Equestrian Events.[Xinhua]") |
|
Laurentia Tan competes during the Individual Championship Test (Grade Ia) of Equestrian Events.[Xinhua]
|
To thunderous applause, Laurentia Tan went down in the record books on September 9 as the first Singaporean to win a Paralympic medal.
In her first Paralympic Games performance, Tan wowed the judges enough to grab the bronze medal with her horse Nothing to Lose, also known as Harvey. This medal, claimed in the Individual Championship Test Grade 1A, also marks the first win for any Asian in a Paralympic Equestrian event.
In front of a full house in the Hong Kong Equestrian Venue at Shatin, Tan scored 68.8 percent on Tuesday.
"I am very happy and I feel good. I'm very excited and honored to be in my first Paralympics," she said.
For her accomplishment, Tan will receive the first Athletes Achievement Award from the Singapore National Paralympic Council, which includes a 25,000 Singapore dollar prize.
In Paralympic Dressage, riders are divided into five groups based on the severity of their disability. Born with cerebral palsy and profound deafness, Tan is categorized in the most severe group.
She qualified to represent Team Singapore for the Beijing Paralympics thanks to high scores in her first international tournament, the 2007 World Para Dressage Championships, held in England.