William Tan

William Tan (born 1957) is a neuroscientist, medical doctor, paralympian and motivational speaker. He was the first person to complete a marathon in the North Pole in a wheel chair.

William Tan
Born1957 (age 65–66)
Singapore
NationalitySingapore
Alma materOxford University, Harvard University

Early life and career

Tan was born in Singapore. He contracted polio when he was 2 years old, which caused him to be paralysed from the waist down.[1] He studied at Raffles Institution, and in 1980 he applied to the University of Singapore's medical school, but was not accepted.[2] Instead, Tan entered the university as a science undergraduate, majoring in biology and psychology.[3] In 1989, he embarked on postgraduate studies, pursuing a master's degree in physiology at Harvard University where he graduated with first class honours as a Fulbright scholar.[4] While in the United States, he pursued a research fellowship in neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic.[2] In 2002, he pursued a second master's degree in social work and social policy from the University of Oxford under a Chevening scholarship.[5] He also holds a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Newcastle University and a doctorate of philosophy in neuroscience from the University of Auckland.[2][6]

In 2009 he was diagnosed with stage 4 leukemia, and doctors gave him 9 to 12 months to live. However, through aggressive treatment his cancer went into remission.[7]

Sports career

Tan competed in the 1988 Seoul Paralympics. He was disqualified from two events for lane violations, because his homemade wheelchair could not drive straight.[8] He competed in the Asian-Pacific games, where he won three gold medals, the World Games and the Commonwealth Games.[4] He holds multiple world records, including fastest marathon in a wheelchair across the seven continents,[9] and first person to complete a marathon in a wheelchair on the North Pole.[7] He has taken part in over 100 marathons.[1][10]

Tan also plays badminton competitively.[7]

Tan uses marathons and other physical challenges as a means to raise money for charity. Events include hand-cycling from London to Paris and participating in ultramarathons.[1] In total he has raised over 18 million dollars for charity.[7] He received the Commonwealth Point of Light award for his fundraising.[1]

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Singapore's Paralympic Superman". Points of Light. 2018-07-30. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  2. "Living on Life's Second Lease". medicine.nus.edu.sg. National University of Singapore.
  3. "Dr William Tan Kian Meng, PBM". National University of Singapore.
  4. "Dr William Tan | Kuala Lumpur". 11 April 2017. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  5. "William Tan | Chevening". Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  6. Yumpu.com. "2006 - Halogen Foundation Singapore". yumpu.com. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  7. "A true beacon of light in Singapore, Dr William Tan overcomes polio and cancer to change lives". The Online Citizen. 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  8. "Marathon man speeds help to others". Harvard Gazette. 2002-04-11. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  9. Virtue, Robert; Millington, Ben (2016-05-30). "Cancer survivor eyes final Paralympics performance". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  10. migration (2018-02-25). "One last ultramarathon for paraplegic fund-raiser William Tan". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
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