SINGAPORE — Singapore’s only Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling announced on Tuesday (April 2) that he has retired from competitive swimming.

"It comes a time when everyone has to flip the page, turn a new chapter. This is my time to do that, this is my official retirement," the 28-year-old told CNA in an interview before making the news public in a social media post.

Schooling made history for Singapore at the 2016 Rio Olympics when he won gold in the 100m butterfly, beating his idol Michael Phelps. 

He holds eight national records — six in individual events and two in the relays.

Retirement had been in the back of his mind for "quite some time", said Schooling, adding that he plans to focus on his swim school.

"I was ready to do something else. I didn't get the excitement that I had waking up at four years old... I was still grinding through the possibilities of making it to Paris. I'd always told myself that I'd finish when I was 29," he said.

"(But) sometimes things change. I believe that this change is for the better, and my time just came a bit earlier than expected. That just means that we have more time and more room to excel in the next phase of my life."

Retirement will be a "little intimidating, daunting, but at the same time exciting", said Schooling.

"Having to change that identity, change that perception, change the routine, it is pretty taxing. It is pretty scary. But at the same time as athletes, I think it's important not to put your entire identity around your sport and that's when you start honing other skills."

In his post on Instagram, Schooling said that he is "filled with gratitude" for every experience that swimming has brought in his life.

"The victories were exhilarating, the defeats humbling, and together, they have forged a resilience in me that I will carry forward into my next chapter."

As a child, Schooling had set his sights on competing at the Olympics. He was inspired by his granduncle Lloyd Oscar Valberg, a high jumper who represented Singapore at the 1948 London Games.

At the age of 14, his parents Colin and May Schooling sent him to the United States to train, spurred by his passion for the sport.

After winning multiple golds at the Sea Games in 2011 and 2013, Schooling's big break came in 2014 when he became the first Singaporean to win a swimming medal at the Commonwealth Games — a silver in the 100m butterfly.

He then won the same event at the Incheon Asian Games in a Games record time. It was Singapore’s first gold in the pool at the Asian Games in over two decades.

He also took bronze in the 200m butterfly and silver in the 50m butterfly.

At the 2015 Sea Games, Schooling won a whopping nine golds, before making history later that year with a bronze — Singapore’s first — at the swimming world championships

Then came his crowning moment in 2016.

Schooling, then a student at the University of Texas, won Singapore's first Olympics gold medal at the Rio Games, beating Michael Phelps and Chad le Clos in the 100m butterfly event.

He also set a new Olympic record of 50.39s, eclipsing Phelps' mark of 50.58s set at Beijing 2008.

Reflecting on his historic win, Schooling said: "After the Olympics, we can see the effect sports has on bringing the nation together, all the celebrations, the mood people were in, I didn't expect that personally. That was a huge eye-opener.

"But I hope that shows everyone how big winning at that stage can do for our country."

A CHALLENGING FEW YEARS

After Rio, Schooling went on to win bronze at the 2017 world swimming championships and set an Asian record in the 50m butterfly.

He won two golds at the 2018 Asian Games (100m butterfly and 50m butterfly), and was a key contributor to two bronzes in the relays ( 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle).

However, 2019 marked the start of a challenging few years for Schooling as he failed to qualify for the semi-finals of both the 50m and 100m butterfly events at the swimming world championships.

While he won four Sea Games gold medals the same year, Schooling was beaten by Teong Tzen Wei to the 50m butterfly title and Darren Chua to the 100m freestyle crown at the Sea Games in the Philippines.

At the Covid-delayed Olympics in Tokyo two years later, Schooling failed to retain his title in the 100m butterfly event. He did not qualify for the semi-finals. 

He clocked 53.12s to finish last in his heat and placed 44th overall.

Earlier that year, Schooling's father Colin had been diagnosed with liver cancer. He died in November 2021.

In January 2022, Schooling enlisted in National Service.

He won a gold medal in the men's 100m butterfly at the Sea Games that year. He also won a gold in the 4x100m medley relay with Maximillian Ang, Quah Zheng Wen and Jonathan Tan. 

Later that year, Schooling confessed to consuming cannabis overseas when he was on short-term disruption from full-time NS to train and participate in the Sea Games.

His urine test returned negative for controlled drugs but he confessed to taking cannabis in May. 

The Defence Ministry said Schooling would no longer be eligible for leave or disruption to train or compete while in NS due to his abuse of disruption privileges.

"There are some things in life where you learn from. One of my coaches said: 'You win or you learn', no such thing as losing and that's the kind of mindset we need to have moving forward," Schooling told CNA.

"I feel like I could have done things better but at the same time with every challenge or every obstacle comes a new opportunity... I do believe I've become a lot wiser after that as well, it was a huge learning curve."

In March 2023, Schooling announced his withdrawal from the Southeast Asian Games. He had been named on Singapore’s shortlist for the event in Cambodia, which took place in May. 

He said at that time that he was “not at the level” at which he expected to compete at the event. 

Later that year, Schooling was excluded from the final list of athletes set to represent Team Singapore at the Asian Games in Hangzhou as there were two swimmers with faster times within the qualifying window.

'I DON'T WANT TO VANISH'

Looking ahead, Schooling plans to explore the areas of finance and sports and grow his swim school to the best of his abilities. 

"I want to give back to the sporting society. I don't want to vanish. I think there's a lot that I can offer. And there are a lot of hurdles that I've had to overcome along with my parents and team, which I can impart on the younger athletes," he added.

"The whole goal is to make sure that they can go further than the previous generation. And if time is of (the) essence, if they can understand this knowledge earlier, quicker, why not?"

The swimmer said he remains competitive, but it is time to channel that competitiveness in a "different realm".

"Someone said to me, people are gonna remember you not for your achievements, not for your accomplishments, but how you made them feel," he said.

"And while your achievements will give you that platform that inspires change, that affects others, I do believe the legacy I'd like to leave is that you can achieve anything if you set your mind to it. Don't ever let anyone tell you you can't do it." CNA