SINGAPORE: Olympic champ Joseph Schooling may have set pulses racing with his exploits at the 2018 Asian Games, but what got the Olympic champion pumped at the meet were two standout swims from young Singaporeans - 18-year-old Darren Chua and 16-year-old Jonathan Tan.
Speaking to reporters after the arrival of Singapore’s swimming, gymnastics and fencing teams at Changi Airport on Saturday (Aug 25), Schooling paid tribute to the performances of his younger teammates.
Advertisement"We have a lot of young talent coming up - relays were great, I was very excited about that," said Schooling. "The future of Singapore swimming is very bright and we have time before (the) Tokyo (Olympics). I think we’re going to get better and better every year."
Joseph Schooling embraces his father Colin, after returning from an Asian Games outing which saw him finish with two gold and two bronze medals. (Photo: Matthew Mohan)
Singapore national swimmers ended their Asian Games campaign on Friday with six medals - two golds, a silver and three bronzes.
Schooling won gold in both the 50m and 100m butterfly, and helped the men's 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay teams to bronze.
AdvertisementAdvertisementRoanne Ho, 25, won a silver in the women's 50m breaststroke after Japan's Miho Teramura was disqualified, while the women's 4x100m medley relay won a bronze, also after disqualifications.
[h=3]READ: Singapore swimmers 'surpassed expectations' at Asian Games, say coaches[/h]Schooling, 23, was quick to single out two youngsters, Chua and Tan for their standout showings.
“Those two swims among a lot of other swims really stood out for me - I actually feel very excited talking about it right now,” Schooling added.
Team Singapore's 4x100m freestyle relay team, Quah Zheng Wen, Joseph Schooling, Darren Lim and Darren Chua, celebrates after clinching bronze. (Photo: SNOC)
The quartet of Schooling, Quah Zheng Wen, Chua and Darren Lim set a new national record in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay while Tan, Schooling, Quah and Danny Yeo combined to clock a new national record in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.
Seven national records fell during the Games - with youngsters such as Glen Lim, 16 setting a national record in the 800m freestyle and 15-year-old Gan Ching Hwee clocking a new national record in the 1500m freestyle.
According to national head coach Stephan Widmer, these represent some of these fruits of Schooling's gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"Joseph had started to give Singaporeans the belief that Singaporeans can compete with the best in the world," said Widmer. “Now you can see coaches believe, swimmers believe and it's a great momentum.
"These kids have prepared, they not just have physical abilities but they have mental abilities and they did really well and (did) the nation proud."
[h=3]READ: Schooling mania strikes Jakarta as Indonesians cheer Singapore's golden boy[/h]For Tan, a Games debutant and the anchor of his relay team - the achievements of his seniors, including Schooling, has given him new confidence.
"Before I knew them or trained with them, I always thought that SEA Games was maximum you can go. After Jo won ... it just gives you the belief that it is possible. Singapore has the capability of producing such athletes."
Singapore's Jonathan Tan poses with coach Ang Peng Wee. (Photo: Facebook/Ang Peng Wee)
But with powerhouse China and Japan finishing the swimming competition with 19 gold medals apiece, part of the challenge will now be for the next generation of Singapore swimmers to bridge the gap.
"They have a great sporting history - those two countries are sports powerhouses," said Schooling. "I think Stefan brought up a good point - he said that we got the third highest, medal count behind China and Japan. So, we’re getting there, right?”
For the young swimmers, Schooling’s exploits remind them that they can challenge swimmers from regional powerhouses.
"It pushes us a lot. Seeing him being able to win a gold medal, its like - any Singaporean can do it," said Chua "It helps to motivate us to want to win a medal, to train even hard and get into the Olympic level."
Added fellow youngster Cherlyn Yeoh: "He has excellent work ethic, the way he trains is really hard and he is not complacent about his Olympic gold medal.
"You always see him training hard - pushing himself in training and it motivates you. If he's pushing himself so hard, then why can’t I?"
Get the widest coverage of the 18th Asian Games (Aug 18 – Sep 2) from Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia on Mediacorp. Go to toggle.sg/AsianGames2018 for details.
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Speaking to reporters after the arrival of Singapore’s swimming, gymnastics and fencing teams at Changi Airport on Saturday (Aug 25), Schooling paid tribute to the performances of his younger teammates.
Advertisement"We have a lot of young talent coming up - relays were great, I was very excited about that," said Schooling. "The future of Singapore swimming is very bright and we have time before (the) Tokyo (Olympics). I think we’re going to get better and better every year."
Singapore national swimmers ended their Asian Games campaign on Friday with six medals - two golds, a silver and three bronzes.
Schooling won gold in both the 50m and 100m butterfly, and helped the men's 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay teams to bronze.
AdvertisementAdvertisementRoanne Ho, 25, won a silver in the women's 50m breaststroke after Japan's Miho Teramura was disqualified, while the women's 4x100m medley relay won a bronze, also after disqualifications.
[h=3]READ: Singapore swimmers 'surpassed expectations' at Asian Games, say coaches[/h]Schooling, 23, was quick to single out two youngsters, Chua and Tan for their standout showings.
“Those two swims among a lot of other swims really stood out for me - I actually feel very excited talking about it right now,” Schooling added.
Some updated stats from the #OneTeamSG Swimming team’s #AsianGames outing. Here’s what they bring home:
Asian Games golds
Asian Games silver
Asian Games bronzes
National Records
Personal Bests
Asian Games Record
Sensational.
— Matthew Mohan (@MatthewMohanCNA) August 25, 2018
Asian Games golds Asian Games silver Asian Games bronzes National Records Personal Bests Asian Games RecordSensational.
— Matthew Mohan (@MatthewMohanCNA) August 25, 2018
The quartet of Schooling, Quah Zheng Wen, Chua and Darren Lim set a new national record in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay while Tan, Schooling, Quah and Danny Yeo combined to clock a new national record in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.
Seven national records fell during the Games - with youngsters such as Glen Lim, 16 setting a national record in the 800m freestyle and 15-year-old Gan Ching Hwee clocking a new national record in the 1500m freestyle.
According to national head coach Stephan Widmer, these represent some of these fruits of Schooling's gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"Joseph had started to give Singaporeans the belief that Singaporeans can compete with the best in the world," said Widmer. “Now you can see coaches believe, swimmers believe and it's a great momentum.
"These kids have prepared, they not just have physical abilities but they have mental abilities and they did really well and (did) the nation proud."
[h=3]READ: Schooling mania strikes Jakarta as Indonesians cheer Singapore's golden boy[/h]For Tan, a Games debutant and the anchor of his relay team - the achievements of his seniors, including Schooling, has given him new confidence.
"Before I knew them or trained with them, I always thought that SEA Games was maximum you can go. After Jo won ... it just gives you the belief that it is possible. Singapore has the capability of producing such athletes."
But with powerhouse China and Japan finishing the swimming competition with 19 gold medals apiece, part of the challenge will now be for the next generation of Singapore swimmers to bridge the gap.
"They have a great sporting history - those two countries are sports powerhouses," said Schooling. "I think Stefan brought up a good point - he said that we got the third highest, medal count behind China and Japan. So, we’re getting there, right?”
For the young swimmers, Schooling’s exploits remind them that they can challenge swimmers from regional powerhouses.
"It pushes us a lot. Seeing him being able to win a gold medal, its like - any Singaporean can do it," said Chua "It helps to motivate us to want to win a medal, to train even hard and get into the Olympic level."
Added fellow youngster Cherlyn Yeoh: "He has excellent work ethic, the way he trains is really hard and he is not complacent about his Olympic gold medal.
"You always see him training hard - pushing himself in training and it motivates you. If he's pushing himself so hard, then why can’t I?"
Get the widest coverage of the 18th Asian Games (Aug 18 – Sep 2) from Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia on Mediacorp. Go to toggle.sg/AsianGames2018 for details.
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...