Laurentia Tan

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Laurentia Tan
Personal information
Full name Laurentia Tan Yen Yi
Nationality Singaporean
Date of birth 24 April 1979 (1979-04-24) (age 29)
Place of birth Singapore
Sport
Country  Singapore
Sport Equestrianism
Event(s) Dressage
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals 2008 Summer Paralympics: Individual C'ship Test (IA) – Bronze; Individual Freestyle Test (IA) – Bronze
Last updated on 17 September 2008
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Tan (Chinese: 陈; pinyin: Chén).

Laurentia Tan Yen Yi (pronounced [lɒˡrɛnʃə], lo-REN-shə; Chinese: 陈雁仪; pinyin: Chén Yànyí，pronounced [tʃən iɛn i], chən yen yee) (born 24 April 1979) is a United Kingdom-based Singaporean equestrienne. At the 2008 Summer Paralympics she won Singapore's first two medals at the Paralympic Games, both bronze medals in dressage. Born with cerebral palsy and a profound hearing impairment, Tan moved to the United Kingdom with her parents at the age of four. She took up horse riding at five years as a form of physiotherapy. She subsequently completed her A-levels at the Mary Hare Grammar School, a residential special school for the deaf, and graduated with an honours degree from Oxford Brookes University in hospitality management and tourism.

In March 2007, the Riding for the Disabled Association Singapore (RDA) invited Tan to join the Singapore team for the World Para Dressage Championships at Hartpury College in Hartpury, Gloucester, in England in July that year. At this event, her first international competition, she did well enough to qualify for the 2008 Paralympic Games. In September 2008, at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre at Sha Tin, she achieved bronze medals in the Individual Championship and Individual Freestyle Tests (class IA). These were Singapore's first Paralympic medals and Asia's first equestrian medals at the Paralympic Games. On 20 September 2008, Tan was conferred the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) by the President of Singapore.

Contents

[edit] Early years and education

Laurentia Tan was born on 24 April 1979 in Singapore.[1] She moved with her parents, Anslem, a business director, and Jannie, a local government officer, to London at the age of four years due to her father's work.[2][3] She now lives in New Malden, Surrey.[1] Tan has an older brother, Ephraim, who is an aerospace engineer.[4] Tan was born with cerebral palsy and profound hearing impairment, and doctors informed her parents that she would probably not be able to walk. Her family decided to settle in the United Kingdom as her parents felt she would be better able to reach her full potential with the medical facilities and specialist educational support available there.[4] When she was in school she fell so often and sustained so many minor injuries that her teachers and the school nurse affectionately nicknamed her "Trouble". At five years she was unable to sit and walk properly, and took up horse riding at the Diamond Centre for Disabled Riders[5] in London as a form of physiotherapy.[2] This activity helped her confidence and self-esteem, and eventually enabled her to walk and drive a car.[6] As a child, she also played cricket and football with her brother, and swam competitively.[4]

Tan attended a mainstream school with a unit for the hearing-impaired, where she received speech therapy. She completed her A-levels at the Mary Hare Grammar School, a residential special school for the deaf,[4] where she won an Elizabeth Dyson Prize and a prize for business studies.[7] From the age of 18, she stopped horse riding for eight years to pursue an honours degree in hospitality management and tourism at Oxford Brookes University,[2] and for a job as a mental health worker.[4][6] However, she missed the sport and took it up again in 2005. She has said, "For me, riding a horse gives me the freedom, movement and energy that my own legs cannot do."[4]

[edit] Sporting career

In March 2007, the Riding for the Disabled Association Singapore (RDA) got in touch with Tan and invited her to join the Singapore team for the World Para Dressage Championships, which were a qualifier for the 2008 Summer Paralympics.[8] The event, Tan's first international competition, was held at Hartpury College in Hartpury, Gloucester, in England from 18 to 22 July 2007. She achieved 63% or higher in both her Team and Individual Tests, qualifying her to be selected for the 2008 Summer Paralympics. In the Freestyle to Music Test, she was placed fourth in a field of 18 riders with a best score of 67.94%.[9]

[edit] 2008 Summer Paralympics

In October 2007, Tan came to Singapore to train daily at RDA with volunteer coach Sally Drummond, who later went to the United Kingdom in April 2008 for two weeks to help her in her Paralympic début.[8] Tan also resigned her job in June 2008 to train full-time with her coach Penny Pegrum and overcome muscle spasticity.[2][6] Her first event was the para-dressage Individual Championship Test (grade IA). Riders in this event are categorized into grades I to IV, those in grade I having the most severe disabilities. On 9 September, riding a 20-year-old chestnut gelding loaned to her named Nothing to Lose (also known as Harvey) at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre in Sha Tin, Tan scored 68.80% to claim the bronze medal behind the United Kingdom's Anne Dunham (73.10%) and Sophie Christiansen (72.80%). She thus became the first Singaporean to win a Paralympic medal, and the holder of Asia's first Paralympic equestrian medal. She will also receive S$25,000 from the Singapore National Paralympic Council's Athletes Achievement Awards scheme.[6][10]

Two days after achieving the first medal, Tan collected her second bronze with a score of 70.167% for the Individual Freestyle Event, in which she and her horse performed to music.[11] The president of the Equestrian Federation of Singapore, Melanie Chew, described her performance as "beyond our expectations", and that the wins would aid in promoting local awareness of the sport.[12]

Tan's win sparked discussion about the recognition given to Paralympians in Singapore. A correspondent to the Straits Times criticized the fact that the newspaper had not elaborated on Tan's performance or what was involved in the event, but had "focused almost primarily on her disability".[13] Another letter writer to my paper expressed disappointment that less publicity had been given to Tan's achievement compared to the silver medals won by the Singapore women's table tennis team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[14] In addition, a Today reader noted that Tan would be receiving S$25,000 for her bronze medal, a tenth of the S$250,000 that table tennis players Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu received for their silver medals. He felt that she should receive even more than them, given what she had achieved in spite of her disabilities.[15] The President of the Society for the Physically Disabled commented that the disparity between the cash awards given to able-bodied and disabled sportspeople was "disconcerting" and looked forward to a single common scheme, because:

If we persist in having two different standards, we reinforce the erroneous perception that disabled people are different, and strengthen the barriers against building an inclusive society. We cannot build a gracious inclusive society if we continue to deny the achievements of those perceived to be different and less able than we.[16]

On 16 September, Nominated Member of Parliament Eunice Olsen asked in Parliament if there was a difference in the amount of funding given to Olympians and Paralympians, and why Paralympians receive a much smaller cash reward for medals won compared to Olympians. Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports), said that on a per capita basis disabled sportspeople received about S$106,000 in the current financial year compared to $54,000 for each able-bodied sportsperson as there were 794 registered able-bodied sportspeople but only 16 disabled ones. Teo attributed the disparity in the cash rewards to the fact that Olympians faced higher levels and a larger scale of competition, since disabled sportspeople compete within disability classes. Further, cash rewards were provided by the private sector and Singapore Totalisator Board and were not paid out of state funds. The scheme for Olympians had also been in place for a number of years, while cash rewards for Paralympians were only introduced recently.[17][18] He said that the government was looking at how it could "develop a aystem to accommodate all athletes that represent Singapore".[18]

Tan was conferred the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) by the President of Singapore at a ceremony at the Istana Singapore on 20 September 2008.[19]

[edit] Medals

Score (%) Medal Date Competition
Individual Championship Test (class IA)
68.80[6] Bronze 9 September 2008 2008 Summer Paralympics
Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
Individual Freestyle Test (class IA)
70.167[11] Bronze 11 September 2008 2008 Summer Paralympics
Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
Freestyle to Music (class I)
74.50[20] Bronze May 2007 Greater London Regional
London, England, UK
71.66[20] Gold October 2007 Blue Barn
Kent, England, UK
Team Test (class IA)
71.76[20] Gold February 2008 Oldencraig Equestrian Club
Surrey, England, UK
68.82[20] Bronze February 2008 Patchetts Equestrian Club
Hertfordshire, England, UK
67.65[20] Gold February 2008 Blue Barn
Kent, England, UK
60.00[20] Bronze January 2008 Berkshire College of Agriculture
Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK
Test 2a (class IA)
73.57[20] Gold May 2007 Greater London Regional
London, England, UK
Test 3 (class IA)
58.78[20] Gold October 2007 Singapore
Test 4 (class IA)
68.82[20] Gold October 2007 Blue Barn
Kent, England, UK
Test 6a (class IA)
71.47[20] Silver May 2007 British Para Dressage
United Kingdom
68.20[20] Silver April 2007 South Bucks, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Test 6b – walk and trot (class IB)
72.94[20] Gold June 2006 Greater London Regional
London, England, UK
64.71[20] Gold April 2006 Diamond Riding for the Disabled Association
Surrey, England, UK
Test 10 (class IB)
65.90[20] Silver August 2007 Sussex, England, UK
Test 12 (class IB)
70.55[20] Gold April 2007 Diamond Riding for the Disabled Association
Surrey, England, UK

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Athlete biography: TAN Laurentia, Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, 2008, <http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/BIO/Athlete/1/1210261.shtml>. Retrieved on 13 September 2008 .
  2. ^ a b c d Tan Yo-Hinn (12 September 2008), "Tan's bronze shine: Thanks to mum and dad's resolve, Singaporean is now a star athlete", Today: 53, <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/275491.asp> .
  3. ^ According to an 11 September 2008 article in the Straits Times, the move to London occurred when she was three years old: Jeanette Wang (11 September 2008), "Laurentia, the perfectionist: Paralympic medallist lip-reads, insists on eating with chopsticks", The Straits Times: A9 .
  4. ^ a b c d e f Jeanette Wang (11 September 2008), "Laurentia, the perfectionist: Paralympic medallist lip-reads, insists on eating with chopsticks", The Straits Times: A9 .
  5. ^ The Diamond Centre for Disabled Riders: Who we are, Diamond Centre for Disabled Riders, 2005–2006, <http://www.diamondcentre.org.uk/who.html>. Retrieved on 17 September 2008 .
  6. ^ a b c d e Jeanette Wang (10 September 2008), "First medal for S'pore: Tan claims equestrian bronze, also Asia's first, at the Paralympic Games", The Straits Times (Sport): B14 .
  7. ^ Mary Hare history: Speech Day 1995, Mary Hare Grammar School, 2007, <http://www.maryharehistory.org.uk/articles/speechday1995.html>. Retrieved on 13 September 2008 .
  8. ^ a b Siow Li Sen (13 September 2008), "Grooming disabled riders", Business Times (Singapore), <http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/whatsin/story/0,4574,296779,00.html?> .
  9. ^ Dressage rider Laurentia Tan qualifies for the 2008 Hong Kong Para Olympics [sic]!, Riding for the Disabled Association Singapore, 22 August 2007, <http://www.rdasingapore.org/?p=15>. Retrieved on 11 September 2008 .
  10. ^ Roundup: British, German riders become biggest winners in Para-equestrian Freestyle, Xinhua News Agency, 12 September 2008, <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/12/content_9935260.htm> ; First Paralympian for Singapore emerges today – Laurentia Tan, Singapore Disability Sports Council, 9 September 2008, <http://www.sdsc.org.sg/news_and_media/media_detail/595/>. Retrieved on 13 September 2008 ; Low Lin Fhoong (11 September 2008), "Tan aims for No 2: One bronze in the bag, equestrian ace could taste more glory today", Today: 49, <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/275268.asp> . See also Patience is a virtue, Fédération Équestre Internationale (International Federation for Equestrian Sports), 9 September 2008, <http://www.fei.org/Media/News_Centre/News/Pages/PG_gradeIa_9sept.aspx>. Retrieved on 11 September 2008 ; Tan Yo-Hinn (10 September 2008), "Tan the history-maker: She keeps her cool to win Singapore's first Paralympic medal", Today: 32, <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/275052.asp> .
  11. ^ a b Jeanette Wang (12 September 2008), "Bronze once again: Tan can't hear must but she and horse 'dance' their way to 2nd medal", The Straits Times (Sport): B21 .
  12. ^ Tan Yo-Hinn (12 September 2008), "Paralympics: Singapore's Laurentia Tan wins second Equestrian bronze", Channel NewsAsia, <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/375273/1/.html> .
  13. ^ Liang Kaicheng (12 September 2008), "So proud, but why focus on disability?", The Straits Times (Forum) .
  14. ^ Yong Ming Han (12 September 2008), "Why so little attention paid to Paralympic bronze?", my paper (reproduced at AsiaOne): A28, <http://www.asiaone.com/News/Mailbox/Story/A1Story20080912-87350.html> . See also Leo Chen Ian (President, Disabled People's Association) (22 September 2008), "The value of gold: Paralympians put in as much effort as Olympians do", Today: 22, <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/277213.asp> , which also appeared as "Disabled appeal for more media coverage [letter]", The Straits Times (Forum): A36, 20 September 2008 .
  15. ^ Chua Sin Bin (12 September 2008), "She deserves even more", Today: 38, <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/275473.asp> .
  16. ^ Chia Yong Yong (17 September 2008), "Offer them equal treatment", The Straits Times (Forum): A23 . See also Leonard Thomas (18 September 2008), "Stars who break down barriers", Today: 49, <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/276588.asp> .
  17. ^ Jeremy Au Yong (17 September 2008), "Top disabled athletes get far more funding", The Straits Times: B9 .
  18. ^ a b Tan Yo-Hinn (17 September 2008), "Paralympic hopefuls in line for more support", Today: 43, <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/276353.asp> . See also Marc Lim (18 September 2008), "M.A.P.'s new route: NSAs will get 20% cut of monetary award, some payouts reduced", The Straits Times (Sport): B14 ; Sim Chi Yin (18 September 2008), "Paralympians' feats inspire entire country", The Straits Times (Sport): B14 .
  19. ^ Valerie Chia (21 September 2008), "Joy ride for Paralympians", The Sunday Times (Sport): 33 ; Lin Xinyi (21 September 2008), "Historic reception", The Sunday Times (Sport): 33 .
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Profile: (Ms) Laurentia Tan Yen Yi, Fédération Équestre Internationale (International Federation for Equestrian Sports), 2008, <https://admin.fei.org/paralympics/Biographies/Athletes/Documents/SIN_Laurentia%20Tan%20Yen%20Yi.pdf>. Retrieved on 17 September 2008 .

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Tan, Laurentia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tan, Laurentia Yen Yi
SHORT DESCRIPTION Singaporean Paralympic equestrienne
DATE OF BIRTH 24 April 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Singapore
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurentia_Tan"
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