Paris 2024 athletes, families, coaches invited to attend parliament sitting

SINGAPORE: Team Singapore athletes who participated in the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, including medallists Jeralyn Tan, Maximilian Maeder and Yip Pin Xiu, have been invited to attend a sitting of parliament next month.

In a Facebook post on Monday (Sep 23), Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said that his ministry will propose a motion at the sitting to congratulate all the athletes, especially the medallists, for their achievements at the events.

"Next month, at the October sitting of parliament, we will honour our Olympians and Paralympians who have represented Singapore with such distinction in Paris," he wrote.

Team Singapore sent 23 athletes across 11 sports to the Olympics and 10 athletes across six sports to the Paralympics.

Mr Tong also extended the invitation to the athletes' families and coaches.

"They are the invaluable team behind the team, who have been steadfast in their support and unstinting in their passion for Team Singapore. Their support has meant everything to us," he wrote.

Kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder clinched a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, becoming Singapore's youngest Olympic medallist.

Swimmer Yip Pin Xiu clinched golds in the 100m backstroke S2 and 50m backstroke S2, winning the titles for the third consecutive Paralympics.

Boccia player Jeralyn Tan won a historic silver at the Paralympics – Singapore's first medal in the sport.

In his post, Mr Tong added that the planning for the 2028 Los Angeles games and 2032 Brisbane games had started.

"The Paris Olympics and Paralympics wrapped up a few weeks ago. But the inspiring stories of how Team Singapore athletes competed with the world's best on the biggest arena, with courage, resilience and a deep desire to excel for Singapore, (live) on," he wrote.

"We will take the experience and lessons from the Paris campaign, build on what we have achieved and push on."