'I want to see what my limits are': Retired Paralympian swimmer Theresa Goh is back in a new sport

SINGAPORE: Imagine a person as a cupboard with many drawers, each holding its own items.

For most of us, the one labelled "work" is typically filled to the brim. For others, it might be "study", "hobbies" or "family" that is packed.

There are also compartments which were once overflowing, but now left open.

Such is the case for Theresa Goh, a retired swimmer, 2016 Paralympic bronze medallist and history-maker.

She was Singapore's first femaleswimmer to qualify for the Paralympics, Singapore's first swimming world champion and remains Singapore's most bemedalled athlete at the Asean Para Games (APG).

The 38-year-old retired from competitive swimming in 2019.

While there was a sense of relief in being a "normal" person once again, Goh has in recent times felt something else – restlessness.

There was one aspect of her life, one drawer, that lacked purpose.

"I feel like work is very purposeful, and I feel fulfilled in the things that I do most of the time. (But) sometimes (there is also that) wondering, 'is there anything else I want to do more?'" she told CNA.

Goh is a pathway and performance managerat the Singapore Disability Sports Council.

"I think there's just something else (to life) besides work and social life ... Maybe it's that I was part of a sport for so long that it was just another piece of me."

And so, six years after hanging up her googles, Goh is back representing Singapore again - this time in the sport of shooting.

It was at a local event organised by Singapore's pentathlon body in July last year where Goh discovered her aptitude for shooting.

Modern pentathlon typically involves fencing, shooting, swimming, riding and cross-country riding, but this particular event had both running and laser shooting.

"Everyone was