JAKARTA: Singapore Olympic champion swimmer Joseph Schooling swam a total of three races at the 2018 Asian Games on Wednesday (Aug 22) – featuring in the heats and finals for the 100m butterfly as well as the 4x100m freestyle final.
That’s three different warm ups and cool downs, and 300m of pulsating sprint racing at the Gelora Bung Karno aquatic centre in Jakarta – all within a span of 12 hours.
The effort was all worth it for the 23-year-old, who ended the day successfully defending his gold medal in his pet event and helping Singapore to a bronze in the relay race.
He looked understandably drained when he spoke to reporters at the end of it all, talking about how his preparation bore fruit and if the effort was finally able to silence his relentless critics.
But when a journalist asked whether he was feeling pressure for the 50m butterfly event on Thursday morning, his eyes lit up.
“Pressure? No, I’ll enjoy it. I swam two 100s today (in the final) so that’s (three) 100s. Two more 50s is nothing in my mind so that’s ok. I’m very excited, I’ll probably sleep a lot easier tonight,” he said.
Since his historic Olympic win in Rio de Janiero in 2016, Schooling’s career – by his own admission – has not been smooth sailing. At the FINA World Championships in 2017, Schooling had to settle for bronze in the 100m butterfly final, and could only watch as United States’ Caeleb Dressel stole the limelight.
“I’ve been up and down over the last two years but its always a cycle right? You cant always be in tip-top performance. What’s important is if you’re not feeling at your best, step up, grind it through and … try to win the race. That’s what defines a champion,” said Schooling.
When asked if he feels he is now back to his best, Schooling respectfully declined to make that admission. His time for the 100m fly in Jakarta was after all 0.65s off his personal best, set in Rio in 2016.
READ: Schooling wins Singapore’s first gold medal after retaining 100m fly crown at Asian Games
READ: Singapore clinch bronze in men’s 4x100m freestyle relay at Asian Games
Joseph Schooling blazed the competition in the 100m butterfly final at the 2018 Asian Games. (Photo: Sport Singapore)
“I’m heading in the right direction. I’ve had a lot of things to get used to … and since turning pro it’s been a little different, but I’m definitely going in the right direction,” he said.
“My support staff is amazing, I’m starting to feel more and more comfortable so I envision the next two years, getting better and better heading into (South) Korea and Tokyo,” he said.
As far as the 100m butterfly is concerned, next on his agenda is the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in South Korea, and more importantly, to defend his Olympic title at Tokyo 2020.
“(The Asian Games gold) is just another stepping stone … you build one at each meet until you finally get to the Olympics. This is one of the building years to get to do what I want to do in Tokyo.
“And so are things going according to plan? Yes I’d say so. I’m happy with where I’m at. I’m definitely in a lot better shape than I was last year, hopefully I can keep building on that,” he said.
READ: Schooling plans to swim ‘until 2024’, targets ‘best times’ at Asian Games
Schooling was criticised by certain quarters for his dip in form since 2016, and his win in Jakarta could go some way in proving them wrong.
But for Schooling, it is about how he channels it to boost his performance.
“I think criticism is good, like if everyone’s on your side praising you then it might get to your head. But I think this is a great check and balance for me, (I’ve) always proven my critics wrong. It’s gives me more motivation to go to practice to race harder so I can prove people wrong,” he said.
In the lead up to Tokyo, Schooling said he is eyeing to compete in the US professional swim circuits, the Mare Nostrum and even feature in meets around Europe.
Joseph Schooling claps after the Singapore national anthem Majulah Singapura is played for the first time at the 2018 Asian Games. (Photo: Sport Singapore)
“Now after I’m done with school, finally, it’ll be nice to go out to Europe and swim in some meets. I’ll come back for the FINA World Cup in Singapore and take it meet by meet and see what happens.”
But for now, Schooling is just focused on two more days of racing in Jakarta.
Next on his plate is the 50m butterfly, an event he bagged silver in the last Asian Games in Incheon. But Schooling is looking to better that, and clinch his second gold for the Games in Indonesia.
“It’s one of my goals … to give everyone the chance to hear our national anthem. So having done that, I feel very proud and very happy. Mission accomplished for today. But I still have two more days of racing. (The 50m butterfly) is a big event which I’m excited about,” he said.
Schooling won 3 medals in the previous edition of the Asian Games in Incheon – a gold, a silver and a bronze. He has already bagged three medals in Jakarta – a gold in the 100m butterfly, and two bronzes – in the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay events.
With the 50m butterfly and the 4x100m relay medley events still on the cards, Schooling looks set to surpass his medal count from two years ago.
Get the widest coverage of the 18th Asian Games (Aug 18 – Sep 2) from Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia on Mediacorp. Go to toggle.sg/AsianGames2018 for details.
