Joseph Schooling

Tell us your story, how did you get here?

It started out with my parents wanting me to be water safe. That’s when I took my first lesson. The lessons started out with survival safety (you know, those gold, silver and bronze classes where you have pyjamas on and you try to stay afloat).

That quickly morphed into competition after competition, with me loving the thrill and excitement of winning. That adrenaline pumping, heart-in-your-mouth kind of situation. The love for that feeling just evolved until we got to this position today. It’s really a passion for getting up on the blocks and racing. The thrill of seeing what you can do, the setbacks, the successes, the ups and downs.

What impact have you made in Singapore?

Well, the story is still being written. The impact I’ve made in Singapore, I think that’s for others to say. But the impact I hope to make would be athletes seeing that, hey, we can be the best in the world.

I’d love for more people to get behind our local athletes. Basically changing the entire sporting culture in Singapore where we can compete with the best – and not just qualify, meet the mark and not have too many expectations. We can compete with the best in the world and show everyone what we’re made of. So hopefully, I’ve helped change the sporting culture in Singapore. Not just for swimming but sports across the board – and I hope people down the line will continue that legacy and continue to push boundaries.

What does 2022 look like for you?

Besides national service, we’ve got a couple of major meets coming up like the SEA Games at Hanoi and the Asian Games at Hangzhou in September. So it’s looking like a pretty packed 2022 for me.

As far as life goes outside the pool, it’s nice being home consistently. Getting back into the swing of things culturally, it’s very different from what I’m used to in the US. Many things have happened in the last few years so it’s also about putting back the pieces again. It’s been a good progression, so let’s see what we can do at those two major games.

But other than that, getting time with my mum and spending time with family and friends – that’s what 2022 entails for me. I’m looking forward to seeing how this year shapes up. We’ve gotten off to a good start.

What do you love most about Singapore?

Besides the food, this is a place where my family and friends are. That’s always been one of my comfort zones. Also, everything’s so accessible here. It’s a city state. We’ve got state-of-the-art technologies and infrastructure, not to mention famous restaurants.

I’m a huge foodie. During my time in Christiansburg, I had to cook for myself a lot. I also enjoy trying and finding new restaurants. I really felt like I missed out on these foodie experiences and that’s what I love most about Singapore. That’s home.

What do you love most about your sport?

It’s all about trying to push those boundaries and seeing what you can do. Swimming is a really humbling sport. Just when you think you’ve got a lid on things and you’ve got things under control, the next day might be completely different and it brings you back to ground zero; it keeps you on your toes.

I don’t think there’s a sport more humbling than swimming. It can make you feel invincible at times but it can also reduce you to ashes. Looking back, the challenges thrown my way helped me grow into who I am today. I’ve met and still continue to meet a lot of really good people along the way. It’s all about the journey.

Swimming’s one of the toughest sports in the world. To have these people in the foxhole with you day in and day out – the coaches and teammates, family and friends at home supporting me, all being understanding of tight time commitments. They always have my back.

At the end of the day when the dust settles (in hindsight, of course), it just shows you how lucky you are to be surrounded by top-class people. So, that’s what I love about swimming. It gives you a holistic view – not just of results or the colour of the medal. In those times when it reduces you to ashes, it really gives you a sense of gratitude for the good that’s come out of this journey. Most importantly, nothing is given. You’ve got to keep working for it. Tough at times, but all in all, at the end of it, it’s something worth living for.

Who is your Local Legend, and why?

I’d say JJ Lin. His beginning in life was no different from the majority of us. He went to school here, served his national service and went overseas to China and made it big. His success was a byproduct of his hard work. Nothing was handed to him on a silver platter. Especially in the Chinese market and the entertainment industry – I can only imagine how competitive it is. So for him to do that and stand out amongst the rest, I think that’s huge and definitely gives me something to look up to.

Photography: Simone Castrovillari; Don Wong