Singapore’s only Olympic gold medal winner, Joseph Schooling, has retired from swimming. The 28-year-old took to Instagram to announce his retirement on April 2, shortly before holding at press conference at the Chinese Swimming Club , where he stated he doesn’t feel the ”same excitement” to practice and he’s entering a ”new phase of his career”.
Joseph Schooling retires
The Singaporean swimming champion made history when he won Singapore’s first and only gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. He won the gold medal in the Men’s 100M Butterfly Final breaking records with a 50.39 seconds swim.
The legendary Gold Medalist said in a post on Instagram:
”Today marks the beginning of a new chapter — I will be retiring from competitive swimming.
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.
Needless to say, I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to my family, coaches, teammates, and my supporters; your encouragement and faith have been a constant source of motivation throughout my journey.
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.
I am eager to explore new passions, face different challenges, and see where this next phase of life takes me. Thank you to my supporters for standing by me every step of the way. I hope you will join me as I embark on this new adventure.”
This retirement announcement was met with praise and love in the comments. One Instagram user stated that there are children in both Singapore and around the world ”putting on their goggles, dreaming big, and taking big leaps” thanks to Schooling.
Schooling has not competed since the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in 2022. However, it seems this won’t be the end of Schooling despite his announcement on retiring from competitive swimming. The iconic swimmer made it clear that he is leaving swimming to explore new paths in life.
Back in 2021, we asked you what you believe Singapore would win Gold in for the 2020 Olympics. Sixty percent of you declared in this article that Joseph Schooling, who was 26 at the time, would win Gold in the Men’s 100M Freestyle and 100M Butterfly after his historic win at the 2016 Olympic Games eight years ago.