Hanako has been with Special Olympics for 27 years now and has been working at the SOAP office for 8 years. She started at 14 years old as a swimmer and bagged many silver and gold medals in both local and international games. After her successful journey as an athlete, she began her course with public speaking and was selected to be a Global Messenger for Special Olympics International. She remains very grateful that only 12 Global Messengers are selected across the globe and each year, she was one of them.
In 2010, Hanako became an Special Olympics Singapore Board Member and was proud to represent other athletes. From 2012 to present, she works as an Admin Assistant at the SOAP headquarters and is also an Athlete Leader Regional Representative. Hanako enjoys learning about Special Olympics Singapore activities and events and more about the way Special Olympics works around the world. She continues to be an inspiration and a role model to many.