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Congrats pour in for Schooling after historic win at Rio

Joseph Schooling holding his gold medal at Rio 2016. Photo: Reuters

Joseph Schooling holding his gold medal at Rio 2016. Photo: Reuters

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SINGAPORE –  Congratulations are pouring in fast and furious for Olympic swimming gold medalist Joseph Schooling after his historic win at the 100m butterfly race at the Rio Olympics on Saturday (Aug 13, Singapore time).

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong praised Schooling for "an incredible feat" and said "you made us very proud today". Mr Lee added: "To all of Team Singapore - thank you for showing us what it means to work hard and never give up on our dreams."

President Tony Tan, who is in Rio to cheer on Team Singapore, held the swimmer up as a role model for Singaporeans, writing: "The Olympics is not just about the achievements, but also about the journey and the effort.

"I am most heartened by how Schooling pushed himself hard against the best in the world in order to put Singapore on the Olympic world map. The values that brought him thus far continue to make him a role model for many of us."

A flood of congratulatory messages on social media also poured forth from various quarters, from ordinary Singaporeans, Schooling's fellow national athletes to banks and telecommunication companies.

"We might be a little red dot but we sure schooled the rest of the world in the pool today," StarHub wrote in a tongue-in-cheek post on Facebook.

Michael Phelps, who finished a joint-second with two other swimmers in the finals, also paid tribute to Schooling's performance, saying: "Hats off to Joseph, I look forward to seeing how he progresses in the next four years."

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