Story of Joseph Schooling

SwimRay | Isabel

in Articles Posted on

04/05/2021 00:33

Image Credit: Olympics

Early Life & Education

Joseph Isaac Schooling was born on 16 June 1995. Sports runs in his bloodline, as his parents were avid athletes who competed at the international level. The only child of May and Colin Schooling spent his primary school days in Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) and subsequently Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) before he left to train in the US. The bubbly Eurasian boy competed for his school, breaking “A”, “B” and “C” Division records while at it.

He received his education in the US from Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida and trained under coach Sergio Lopez. The six foot tall athlete first made his debut on the international stage at the 2011 SEA Games, winning gold in the 200m butterfly and qualifying for the Olympics. Schooling fell short of qualifying for the semi-finals after scrambling to find a new pair of goggles and swim cap when he was informed that his original ones could not be used.

Schooling continued to gain exposure in international competitions. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he clinched silver in the 100m butterfly. At the 2014 Asian Games, he set a Games record of 51.76 seconds in the 100m butterfly and took gold amongst other medals. Schooling competed in nine events in the 2015 SEA Games and broke Games records for all of them. At the FINA World Championships the same year, he was awarded bronze in the 100m butterfly.

Moving on to college at the University of Texas, Schooling won his first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles in the 2015 season. He took gold for the 100 and 200 yard butterfly. Schooling also bagged another title with his 400 yard medley relay team, en route to helping his team finish first in the National Championships. In the 2016 season, the swimming prodigy successfully defended both his individual titles, setting NCAA and US records in the process. Schooling also medalled in five other events.

All of Schooling’s achievements up till then would pale in comparison to what he would do at the biggest stage of his life at Rio 2016. On 12 August 2016, Schooling swam an impressive 50.39 seconds in the 100m butterfly final to take home the gold for Singapore. This timing was then a personal best, national record and Asian record. His longtime idol Michael Phelps shared the silver with Chad Le Clos of South Africa and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary. Upon his return to Singapore, he was greeted with no less than a hero’s welcome, and held a victory parade that drew many heartfelt supporters.

What’s Next?

2018 was the year Schooling turned professional, signing sponsorship and ambassadorship deals with Speedo, Hugo Boss and DBS Bank. The decorated swimmer started Swim Schooling, a local swim school offering lesson plans curated by Schooling himself. He expressed that his hope was for the school to help nurture the aquatic dreams of the children who are enrolled there.

At the SEA Games the same year, he went back to his winning ways and won all his events and broke four Games records. At the 2018 Asian Games, he made successful defense of his 100 m butterfly gold with a new Asian Games record. 2019 was a disappointing year for Schooling, as he was stunned by younger teammate Darren Chua who took his 100m freestyle crown. Schooling’s coaches also highlighted that he would have to make lifestyle changes to get him “trimmer and fitter” for the journey ahead. After a year’s break from competition due to the COVID-19 situation and as Tokyo 2020 looms, it’ll be exciting to see Schooling make a splashing return to the pool.