Dubai: Joseph Schooling’s Singapore teammates have praised the effect his shock 100-metre butterfly gold medal has had on swimming in the island city-state.
The 21-year-old became his country’s first Olympic gold medal winner when he beat outgoing Michael Phelps – the most decorated Olympian of all-time — in Rio this summer.
Now, Schooling’s teammates Malcolm Low and Chantal Liew, who are in Dubai for round five of the nine-stage Swimming World Cup at the Hamdan Sports Complex this week, are noticing a big difference.
“After what he did a lot more companies are willing to support us and the younger generation are more motivated to start swimming,” said Liew.
“Football is our national sport but I think swimming might overtake it. Thanks to the exposure, the public are a lot more aware of what we are doing.
“I think the funding will go up so we will attend more camps and overseas competitions,” she added.
Low agreed, adding: “Twenty per cent of the S$1 million (Dh2.7 million) awarded to Schooling by the Singapore National Olympic Council for winning gold has gone to the Singapore Swimming Association, and that will go into youth development.
“This will be a great motivation to us local swimmers and it’s created a positive buzz around the swimming community in Singapore. All the kids want to be like him and he’s a great role model for us all.”
Low added that Schooling’s achievement left him believing anything was possible.
“If you had asked me five years ago when no Singaporean had ever done this, I would have said it was impossible. No one had ever made a final let alone won.
“But there were actually two Singaporeans who made big news in Rio, Schooling and Quah Zhang-wen, who narrowly missed out on making the 200-metre butterfly final.
“Quah has trained in Singapore since a young age, while Schooling went to America. I guess both went in different directions but they’ve both made us believe it’s possible to compete against the best.”
Asked whether it was better to stay in Singapore or train abroad, Low replied: “The local system has a lot more emphasis on academics and you rarely get excused for training unless you are in a sports school.
“Most of the best swimmers in South East Asia go overseas but Quah has proven that even in the local system you can still do well if you put your heart and soul into it.
“Both systems have pros and cons, it’s up for debate whether everyone who goes to America will do as well as Schooling.”
Liew agreed: “It depends on the individual as to what is best. I’d personally stay in Singapore with my family. The set-up is also really good in Singapore so I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to stay. In America you will need a lot more discipline, so it’s each to their own.
“Schooling is definitely not a one-off, we have a lot of very good up and coming swimmers, and he’s proven that it’s possible for any country — regardless of size or population — to win a gold medal. So long as you are willing to work hard, the results will come. I definitely think that with more training anything is possible.”
