“She’s passionate about what I do”, said Schooling in an interview with Singapore Telecoms.
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Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling returned home to a rousing welcome on Monday after winning the city-state’s first ever Olympic gold medal with a stunning victory over the legendary Michael Phelps.
But very few would have witnessed the boy-to-man story of Singapore’s Olympic champion from diapers to the Mizuno trunks who went prospecting in Rio de Janeiro and struck gold.
Schooling already had a three-year deferment ending after Rio 2016, but his sensational performance made another extension a formality. “Thank you everyone for coming”.
Joseph Schooling’s quest to defend his Olympic title at the 2020 Games in Tokyo was given a massive boost on Monday (15 August) after his National Service (NS) deferment was extended.
“I’m here because he’s Singapore’s first gold medallist (at the Olympic Games) and he’s a hero to all of us”, said 33-year-old fan Joyce Lee.
Schooling’s mixed European and Asian heritage has resonated strongly in the immigrant society of 5.5 million people, which had to rely on naturalised athletes for years to win medals at worldwide events until the swimmer emerged. I told him I had watched the race live, and seen his press conference.
Schooling was a second ahead of his idol American swimmer Michael Phelps, who finished at 51.14s jointly with South Africa’s Chad le Clos and Hungarian Laszlo Cseh.
“They did it this time”, he said.
“He really showed the meaning of hard work, which I think is a really great inspiration for my two sons”, she said of the third-generation Singaporean.
While Schooling has ample reserves in his tank, our swimming authorities should focus on helping him train and conserve power for his best events, and, if scheduling permits, one or two others in the same stroke category. Eventually, he mustered the courage to ask for a picture, too.
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Tan, who is also the president of the Singapore National Olympic Council, was speaking in Parliament today on a motion to formally recognise Schooling’s achievement.
