Swimmer Joseph Schooling, who won Singapore's first and so far only Olympic gold medal in 2016, announced on Tuesday that he has retired from competitive swimming at the age of 28.
Schooling, known in the city state as the “Singapore Flying Fish”, stunned the swimming world by beating his childhood hero Michael Phelps in the 100m butterfly at the Rio Olympics in a time of 50.39 seconds.
Schooling has found it difficult to match that level of global success since 2016, winning the lone bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships and in the heat of the moment defending his title at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. I was defeated.
“Today marks the beginning of a new chapter. I am retiring from competitive swimming,” he said in a message posted on Facebook.
“I am so grateful for all the experiences that swimming has brought to my life. Victories have been exhilarating, defeats have been humiliating, and together they have built resilience within me and given me strength. We’re going to take that into the next chapter.”
Although the eight years since Rio have seen more defeats than victories, Schooling will retire with three gold medals at the Asian Games and 29 gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games.
Schooling was dropped from Singapore's squad for last year's postponed Hangzhou Asian Games because two other swimmers posted faster times.
He told The Straits Times it was “disappointing” and said he was yet to decide on his future ahead of the Olympics next year.
“Although I am stepping away from competition, swimming will forever be a part of me. It has given me a platform to inspire others to follow their dreams, no matter the hardships,” he said. added on Tuesday.
“I'm looking forward to exploring new passions, facing different challenges, and seeing where the next phase of my life will take me.”
