Singapore's Joseph Schooling, who defeated Michael Phelps in Phelps' final Olympic individual race, has retired from swimming at the age of 28. According to his social media and singapore swimming federation.
The word “retirement” is “extremely strange” School education told Singapore Straits Times in a video interview. “I think you've had quite a bit of time to think and reflect and process this moment. So I'm not really surprised when I hear those words now. But despite all that, if you If you've given your all to something, then yeah, stepping into another phase or another chapter, whatever term you like to coin, is definitely both scary and exciting.”
In 2016, Schooling suffered his first loss to Phelps in the Olympic 100m butterfly, becoming Singapore's first Olympic gold medalist.
Singapore set an Olympic record at the time of 50.39 seconds. Phelps shared the silver medal with South Africa's Chad Le Clos and Hungary's Laszlo Cech in a time of 51.14 seconds.
The next day, Phelps ended his competitive career by winning his 23rd and 28th medals in the U.S. men's 4×100-meter medley relay.
Schooling then won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships, but failed to qualify for the 2019 World Championships and the Tokyo Olympics.
His last competition was the Southeast Asian Games in May 2022. According to his World Swimming Profile.
Schooling swam in high school for the Ball's Sharks in Jacksonville, Florida, and was club teammate with Caleb Dressel, who succeeded Schooling as Olympic 100-meter butterfly champion.
“I am so grateful for all the experiences swimming has brought to my life.” Posted on Schooling's social media. “The wins were exhilarating and the losses were humiliating. Together, they built resilience within me that I will carry into the next chapter.”
