Asian Games 2018: swimmer Joseph Schooling to retire after 2024 Olympics as Singapore media rejoice in national hero
The Rio butterfly champion is giving his country’s reporters six more years of headlines as he aims for five medals in the pool in Jakarta
Singapore’s Olympic champion Joseph Schooling is a source of pride for the country’s media corps and the good news is that they have another six years to follow their popular newsmaker.
Schooling on Saturday said that he would quit swimming after the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, adding that his triumph in the Rio Olympics two years ago changed his life.
“We feel a sense of pride because we have someone up there with the best in Asia,” said Today Online’s Low Lin Fhoong. “We are a small country and he’s earned us respect in the Asian and international stage.
“As a reporter, I feel very excited to see how he does at the Asian Games, especially after his win in 2014 in Incheon.”
Schooling’s victory in 2014 at the Incheon Games announced his arrival as a world-class swimmer and he lived up to the hype with a historic victory in Rio.
The 23-year-old told Today online that he will have two more Olympic ventures – in Tokyo 2020 and Paris – before giving way to Singapore’s next generation of swimmers.