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Schooling wins top swimmer award

SINGAPORE — United States-based Joseph Schooling has been named Singapore’s top swimmer for 2014 at the annual Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) Awards Night on Saturday (Apr 25).

Joseph Schooling. TODAY file photo

Joseph Schooling. TODAY file photo

SINGAPORE — United States-based Joseph Schooling has been named Singapore’s top swimmer for 2014 at the annual Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) Awards Night on Saturday (Apr 25).

Held at Hotel Fort Canning, the SSA also announced that 75 athletes will represent Singapore in swimming, waterpolo, synchronised swimming and diving at the upcoming South-east Asian (SEA) Games, which the Republic will host from June 5 to 16.

Also taking top honours was national coach Sergio Lopez, who was named the SSA’s Coach of the Year.

Accepting the Swimmer of the Year title from Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong was Joseph’s father Colin.

Schooling, a freshman at the University of Texas in Austin, had a stand-out 2014, where he won a silver medal in the 100m butterfly at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow — Singapore’s first at the quadrennial meet.

He then won the 100m fly at the Asian Games in Incheon. It was Singapore’s first gold medal in men’s swimming at the Asiad since Ang Peng Siong clinched the 100m freestyle at the 1982 New Delhi Games. Joseph also won the 50m fly silver and 200m fly bronze in Incheon.

“Now my attention is on the SEA Games and I am excited,” said Joseph in a taped message at the awards. “Since I was a kid, I wanted to perform in front of my home crowd, having thousands of people cheering me on. I am looking forward to the Games.”

Lopez, who had trained Joseph when the teenager was at Florida’s Bolles School until last year, added: “I was coaching Joseph when he was in Bolles last year and I was not surprised by his achievements at the Commonwealth and Asian Games.

“In fact, this award is a justification of the hard work that Joseph and I put in the pool. Joseph is continuing to improve and the sky is the limit for him.”

Schooling will be part of Singapore’s 29-strong swim team for the SEA Games, along with 34 water polo players from the men’s and women’s teams, 12 synchronised swimmers and eight divers. The men’s and women’s waterpolo teams will be cut to the 13 players each on May 17 after a training tour of Japan.

Speaking at the awards, SSA president Lee Kok Choy noted the association had set up the SSA’s Athletes Commission and Parents’ Advisory Committee, and won the bid the stage this year’s FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in August.

But he also re-iterated the need for Singapore’s aquatics athletes to make their presence felt at the SEA Games.

“(The) OCBC Aquatic Centre is now the home of Singapore Swimming and we must make our presence felt. We must make the home advantage count,” said Lee. “It is almost 41 days to the start of the SEA Games and I can’t wait to hear Majulah Singapura to be continuously played at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.”

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