Sophie Soon (Paralympic Swimmer)

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Sophie Soon Jin Wen (born 1998) is a Singaporean para swimmer from Team Singapore.[1][2] Over the years, she has represented Singapore to win several international competitions. Most notably, she competed in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and managed to come in fourth for the women’s 100m breaststroke SB12 event.[3]

In March 2023, Sophie Soon sparked some controversy after she posted a video of her confrontation with a Rocky Master employee on Facebook.[4][5][6] The dispute revolved around Sophie and her guide dog, whose presence caused her and her mother to be refused entry into the cafe.[4][5]

Background

At the tender age of five, Sophie Soon was diagnosed with cone rod dystrophy, an eye disorder that causes progressive vision loss.[1][7] Despite her disability, she grew to love swimming and eventually began competing in the sport.[1][2]

“They started doing exercises like writing numbers, recognition of numbers and all that. She [Sophie] took a long time and she kept getting it wrong, and she had her whole face practically buried in the paper, “I thought something was definitely not right.”[7]

Personal life & family

Born in Singapore, Sophie Soon comes from a family of four, including a younger brother named Colin Soon.[7] Like his sister, Colin also suffers from cone rod dystrophy and represents Singapore as a para swimmer.[7][8]

Sophie is currently in a relationship with Raphael Chau, a Senior Financial Consultant at Great Eastern.[9][10]

Education

Sophie Soon graduated from CHIJ Secondary before going on to pursue a Diploma in Business Management at Nanyang Polytechnic.[11][12] Due to her passion for music, she was also an active member of the NYP String Quartet.[8]

Her achievements and contributions as a para athlete and performer have also earned her the Platinum Award for Special Achievement at NYP's Student Talent & Achievement Recognition (Star) Award 2016.[8]

Work

During the off-season period, Sophie Soon is a Marketing Specialist at Toyota Singapore.[13] She previously worked as an Executive Administrative Assistant for Sport Singapore.[14]

Para swimming career

SPH National Incl Swimming Championships (2015 to 2019)

Date Tournament Placing Refs.
5 May 2019 SPH National Incl Swimming Championships - Women's 200m Freestyle S13 NA [15]
5 May 2019 SPH National Incl Swimming Championships - Women’s 50m Breaststroke SB13 NA [15]
25 July 2015 SPH National Incl Swimming Championship 1st [2]
14 July 2015 SPH National Incl Swimming Championships - Women's 50m Freestyle S12 1st [2][15]
14 July 2015 SPH National Incl Swimming Championships - Women's 100m Freestyle S13 1st [2][15]

ASEAN Para Games (2015 to 2022)

Date Tournament Placing Refs.
3 August 2022 11th ASEAN Para Games - Women’s 50M Freestyle S12 event 2nd [16]
3 August 2022 11th ASEAN Para Games - Women's 100m Breaststroke SB12 1st [16]
4 December 2015 7th ASEAN Para Games - Women’s 100m Freestyle 2nd [17]

SSA Swim Series (2016 to 2019)

Date Tournament Placing Refs.
18 January 2019 SSA Swim Series - Women's 200m Individual Medley SM13 NA [15]
29 January 2016 SSA Jan Time Trial - Women's 50m Backstroke S13 NA [15]

World Para Swimming World Series (2017 to Present)

Date Tournament Placing Refs.
19 February 2023 Citi Para Swimming World Series 2023 Melbourne - Women's 50m Breaststroke SB12 1st [18]
15 June 2022 Madeira 2022 World Para Swimming Championships - Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB12 Final 1 2nd [1]
14 June 2022 Madeira 2022 World Para Swimming Championships - Women's 50 m Freestyle S12 Heat 1 10th [1]
12 June 2022 Madeira 2022 World Para Swimming Championships - Women's 100 m Backstroke S12 Final 1 8th [1]
1 April 2022 Internationale Deustche Meisterschaften (IDM) Berlin Swim - 100m Freestyle Heats NA
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 International Paralympic Committee. “Sophie Jin Wen Soon”. International Paralympic Committee. n.d. Accessed 13 March 2023.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Team Singapore. “Sophie Soon Jin Wen”. Team Singapore. n.d. Accessed 13 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Yu, Jane. “Paralympics 2020: “I dived in and everything went wrong”. The Pride. September 10, 2021. Accessed 13 March 2023.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Raguraman, Anjali. “Paralympic swimmer Sophie Soon in stand-off over guide dog at Rocky Master outlet in Hougang”. The Straits Times. March 12, 2023. Accessed 13 March 2023.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Raguraman, Anjali. “Paralympian Sophie Soon’s dispute with cafe sheds light on guide dog users’ daily challenges”. The Straits Times. March 15, 2023. Accessed 13 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Kwa, Alfie. “S'pore Paralympic swimmer apologises after filming dispute over guide dog in cafe”. Mothership. March 12, 2023. Accessed 13 March 2023.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Mohan, Matthew. “'Everyone is equal in the pool': Visually impaired siblings overcome odds to earn success for Singapore”. CNA. December 19, 2021. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Team Singapore. “Colin Soon Jin Huang”. Team Singapore. n.d. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  9. ↑ ZULA. “Interabled Couples On Meeting The One & Dealing With Insensitive Questions | ZULA Perspectives”. YouTube. November 30, 2022. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Great Eastern. “Adviser”. Great Eastern. n.d. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  11. ↑ sophsoon. “sophsoon”. Instagram. September 20, 2022. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  12. ↑ Yuen Teng, Ho. “Poly student wins award for special achievement despite visual impairment”. The New Paper. February 4, 2016. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Soon, Sophie. “Sophie Soon”. Facebook. n.d. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  14. ↑ Soon, Sophie. “Sophie Soon”. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Singapore Disability Sports Council. “Para Swimming National Record (Long Course)”. Singapore Disability Sports Council. n.d. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Singapore Disability Sports Council. “Singapore Disability Sports Council”. Facebook. August 7, 2022. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  17. ↑ Team Singapore. “Team Singapore”. Team Singapore. December 4, 2015. Accessed 20 March 2023.
  18. ↑ Singapore Disability Sports Council. “Singapore Disability Sports Council”. Facebook. February 19, 2022. Accessed 20 March 2023.
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