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World C'ships: Schooling drops 200m butterfly, gets a day's rest before 100m freestyle

BUDAPEST - In a repeat of his move at the Rio Olympics, Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling has pulled out of the 200m butterfly at the Fina World Championships, a move that now gives him a day's rest before he launches his assault on the 100m freestyle on Wednesday (July 26)

Joseph Schooling has dropped the 200m butterfly from his list of events once again. Photo: AFP

Joseph Schooling has dropped the 200m butterfly from his list of events once again. Photo: AFP

BUDAPEST - In a repeat of his move at the Rio Olympics, Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling has pulled out of the 200m butterfly at the Fina World Championships, a move that now gives him a day's rest before he launches his assault on the 100m freestyle on Wednesday (July 26).

The 22-year-old University of Texas undergraduate had qualified for four events at the world championships - the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, and the 100m freestyle - but decided before the start of the championships to scratch the 200m fly.

Singapore Swimming Association technical director Sonya Porter confirmed that Schooling had pulled out of the 200m fly before the championships to focus on his other three events. 

The move means that Quah Zheng Wen will be the only Singaporean competing in the 200m butterfly on Tuesday (July 25). The heats will be held from 3.30pm onwards, Singapore time. 

Schooling's move to scratch the 200m fly mirrors what he did at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Back then, the 200m fly heats were held a day before the 100m freestyle.

After skipping the event, Schooling went on to set a new national record for the 100m freestyle en route to qualifying for the semi-finals. He did not make the final in the end but won the 100m fly gold a few days later.

While Schooling holds the national record of 1min 55.73sec for the 200m butterfly, his fastest time in the event this season is 1:56.45.

That puts him at 25th on Fina's world ranking, and a good three seconds behind the world's current two fastest swimmers in the discipline: Japan's Masato Sakai (1:53.71) and Hungary's Kristof Milak (1:53.79).

Schooling finished fifth in the 50m butterfly final on Monday (Tuesday morning, 12.17am, Singapore time). He set two new Asian records on Sunday en route to qualifying for the final.

His 100m freestyle heats will be on Wednesday. He will compete in the 100m butterfly on Friday.

Quah Zheng Wen will be competing in the men's 200m butterfly heats on Tuesday. The heats will be shown on StarHub Ch203 from 3.30pm onwards. 

 

 

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