Joseph Schooling, the one and only Olympic medalist of Singapore is set to be inducted in the Hall of Fame in July 2025.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame announced its class of inductees for 2025 earlier this week. There will be 11 honorees from 9 countries, 4 countries being the first ever nations to be inducted. These nations are India, Kuwait, Tunisia and Singapore.
The honorees include Sachin Nag (India), Captain Husain AL Musallam (Kuwait), Ous Mellouli (Tunisia), Joseph Schooling (Singapore), Gregg Troy (USA), Chen Ruolin (CHN), Andrea Fuentes (Spain/USA), Anthony Ervin (USA), Ryan Lochte (USA), Federica Pellegrini (Italy) and Endre Molnar (Hungary).
Joseph will be the first Singaporean to join the Hall of Fame which includes the legendary Michael Phelps, the most notable Olympic player with 28 medals and Kosuke Kitajima, the former world record holder.
ISHOF will also be hosting its 60th Anniversary Honoree Induction Ceremony on 28 July. The ceremony will take place at the Park Royal Collection at Marina Bay.
Regarding the honour, Joseph Schooling said, “This achievement isn’t just mine – it belongs to my coaches, teammates, mentors, family, and everyone who believed in me along the way,”
“Swimming has shaped my life in ways I could never have imagined, teaching me discipline, resilience, and the power of perseverance. Thank you to the Swimming Hall of Fame for this incredible honour. I’m forever grateful.” he added.
With that being said, Schooling is a true inspiration as he creates history for his nation, Singapore. Let’s take a look at his incredible journey.
Diving Into The History: Joseph Schooling’s Story
Joseph Schooling is a professional swimmer who was born and raised in Singapore. The 29-year-old has broken multiple records and is the first ever and only Olympic medallist of Singapore.
His passion for swimming runs in the family, as his grand-uncle Lloyd Valberg, was the first Singapore Olympian to take part in the event as an athlete, He’s the reason for Schooling’s inspiration.
He’s known for his specialization in butterfly, freestyle and medley events. He has multiple titles to his name including the SEA Games 2011, Commonwealth Games 2014, and Asian Games in the same year and two individual titles at the NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships 2015. He defended the title the following year and won 3 more golds.
His most significant achievement is the Olympic gold medal in 2016. He won the title in 100m butterfly with a personal best time of 50.39 seconds. His time set a new record, which was a national record and also an Asian record. The Singapore National Olympic Council awarded Schooling S$1 million (about US$740,000) under the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP).
Post-Olympic, he won a join-bronze medal at the FINA World Championship 2017 and all events in the SEA Games 2017. He successfully defended his 100m butterfly record with a gold in the Asian Games 2018.
He could not defend his title in the Olympic 2020 and retired after 3 years in 2023. He was supposed to take part in the SEA Games 2023, however, he withdrew his name and announced his retirement.
“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 (2024 Summer Olympics). I’d always told myself that I’d finish when I was 29,” Schooling told CNA last year.
“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 said.
Schooling said he remains competitive, but thinks it is time to channel that competitiveness in a “different realm”. he added.
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