7-8-2023 (SINGAPORE) Joseph Schooling, the celebrated Singaporean national swimmer and Olympic champion, will not be participating in the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou.
The 28-year-old athlete was not included in the final list of representatives set to compete for Team Singapore at the Sep 23 to Oct 8 event. The contingent, consisting of 431 athletes, was officially announced on Saturday (Aug 5).
Sport Singapore and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) revealed that the contingent will compete across 32 sports, making it the largest-ever representation for the country at the Asian Games.
Originally scheduled for 2022, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joseph Schooling had initially made it to the preliminary list for Hangzhou, which was released in April 2022.
In response to his exclusion, Schooling issued a statement saying, “While I will not be participating, I wish the contingent the best at the Asian Games and to do Singapore proud. The status of my training and competition remains the same. More details of my future will be shared in due course.”
Singapore Aquatics, in response to queries from CNA, clarified that swimmers are selected for the Asian Games based on clocking the fastest times during the qualification window. Due to the postponement, the selection window deadline for swimmers was extended from April 2022 to May 2023.
According to the statement from Singapore Aquatics, two other swimmers emerged ahead of Joseph Schooling based on faster times achieved during the extended selection window, leading to his exclusion from the Asian Games roster.
Schooling’s absence from the Asian Games marks a significant development, considering his remarkable achievements in previous editions of the competition. At Incheon in 2014, he secured Singapore’s first male swimming medal in 24 years, winning bronze in the 200m Butterfly event and gold and silver in the 100m and 50m butterfly events, respectively.
In 2018, at the Jakarta Asian Games, Schooling’s exceptional performance contributed to Team Singapore’s four gold medals, including his wins in the 50m and 100m butterfly events, where he also set an Asian Games record for the 100m. He further aided the men’s 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay teams to clinch bronze medals.
Joseph Schooling has faced challenging times in recent years. In 2021, he relinquished his Olympic crown in Tokyo after failing to make the semi-finals of the 100m butterfly event, an event he had triumphed in 2016. Adding to his hardships, he coped with the passing of his father Colin shortly after.
In 2022, Schooling admitted to consuming cannabis while overseas, leading to repercussions from the Ministry of Defence and the suspension of support from Sport Singapore. He also faced a fine for violating the Singapore National Olympic Council’s code of conduct.
Despite his exclusion from the Asian Games, Schooling remains determined to continue his athletic pursuits. He will be competing later this month in the inaugural Professional Triathletes Organisation Asian Open in Singapore as part of a relay team. The event, taking place in the Marina Bay area from Aug 19 to Aug 20, will include a 2km swim, an 80km bike ride, and an 18km run.
