SINGAPORE: Joseph Schooling, the swimmer who famously beat his idol Michael Phelps to become Singapore’s first and only Olympic champion, announced on Tuesday that he had retired from the pool at the age of 28.

Known in the city state as “Singapore’s Flying Fish”, Schooling stunned the swimming world when he beat American great Phelps to win the 100 metres butterfly with a time of 50.39 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Schooling found it difficult to match that level of global success after 2016, winning a solitary bronze medal at the 2017 world championships and his career started to ebb after winning gold medals in the 50m and 100m butterfly at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta before he crashed out in the heats in his title defence at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

“Today marks the beginning of a new chapter — I will be retiring from competitive swimming,” he said in a message posted on Facebook.

“I am filled with gratitude for every experience that swimming has brought into my 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.”

In an interview with the Straits Times newspaper, Schooling said he had become complacent.

“My mistake was the complacency to think that this will last forever because I’m so far ahead,” he said. “Add on ego, add on pride. Add on that ‘I’m never going to be shut down attitude’. That’s a recipe for complacency.”

The defeats have been more frequent than the victories in the eight years since Rio but Schooling will retire with three Asian Games gold medals and 29 from the Southeast Asian Games.

Schooling was left out of the Singapore team for last year’s delayed Asian Games in Hangzhou beca­use two other swimmers had recorded faster times.

Schooling, who has performed two years of mandatory military service, was mired in controversy in 2022 after confessing to taking cannabis overseas.

Singapore has some of the toughest drugs laws in the world, and citizens can face up to 10 years in prison if found to have consumed illegal substances outside the city-state.

Schooling was given a warning and placed on a supervised urine test regime for six months. He was also made no longer eligible for leave to train or compete during his military service.

“While I am stepping away from competing, swimming will forever be a part of who I am. It has given me a platform to inspire others to chase their dreams, no matter the odds,” he added. “I am eager to explore new passions, face different chall­enges, and see where this next phase of life takes me.”

Schooling told the Straits Times he was now going to work with two venture capital partners in the “health and wellness, tech and sustainability” sectors, and play more golf.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2024