Singapore’s Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling is about to discover what that means when he’s not in the competition pool.
After spending the last nine years in relative anonymity in the United States, the 23-year-old Schooling is getting ready for the second half of his sporting career back in Southeast Asia, knowing he probably won’t be able to walk down the street or go for dinner without being noticed.
Schooling is competing this week where he has entered in the 50m and 100m butterfly races, three relays and the 50m freestyle.
Schooling wants to keep swimming through to the 2024 Olympics in Paris and, although he hasn’t made a final decision on his training plans, he has spent the past few months practising with Singapore’s new high-performance unit and liked what he sees.
Australia’s Stephan Widmer, who helped Libby Lenton and Leisel Jones win Olympic titles, has been appointed performance director at the institute while Gary Tan is the national head coach and Sonya Porter, who has extensive experience coaching in the US, is the technical director. — AP
Schooling’s biggest challenge could be how to deal with his celebrity status, but after he held off Phelps on the most significant final lap of his life to date, he’s confident he can manage.
“It takes some getting used to, but at the end of the day if you focus on what you’re doing and you don’t care about outside distractions it’s OK,” he said. “I like being in that position, and I don’t see it as a burden at all.” — AP
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2018/08/22/schooling-set-for-next-phase-in-swimming-career/#4ofLPSXywzDClHl7.99