21-year-old Joseph Schooling has made history by winning Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal in the 100m butterfly, doing it in an Olympic record time of 50.39s.
He edged out Olympic great, American Michael Phelps, who clocked a time of 51.14s to come in joint second place with both South African Chad le Clos and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary.
Shortly after Schooling’s win, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong posted a message on social, congratulating the young athlete, and thanking Singapore’s Olympic team for “showing us what it means to work hard and never give up on our dreams”.
MPs like Tan Chuan-jin and Baey Yam Keng also took to their social networks to express their excitement at Schooling’s historic win, along with many other Singaporeans.
The moment we will always remember. #proudofyouJS #rio2016 #sgtalent #josephschooling… https://t.co/zW3vJrX9gU
— Baey Yam Keng 马炎庆 (@YamKeng) August 13, 2016
Schooling largely dominated the 100m butterfly finals, maintaining a steady lead as he powered to the finish to claim the gold medal.
In doing so, Schooling has denied childhood idol Phelps his 23rd Olympic gold.
Reuters reported that Schooling punched the water and roared with delight after his win, as Phelps swam over to pat him on the back before le Clos ruffled the youngster’s hair.
candicec@sph.com.sg
The Straits Times, The New Paper, Zaobao, SINGSOC, Singapore Sailing Federation
