Joseph Schooling wins S’pore’s first gold at Incheon Asiad
SINGAPORE — Joseph Schooling has won Singapore’s first gold medal of the 2014 Asian Games after winning the men’s 100m butterfly final at the Munhak Park Tae-Hwan Aquatics Centre today (Sept 24).
Singapore's Joseph Isaac Schooling celebrates winning the finals of the men's 100m butterfly swimming event during the 17th Asian Games at the Munhak Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Centre in Incheon on Sept 24, 2014. Photo: AFP
SINGAPORE — Joseph Schooling has won Singapore’s first gold medal of the 2014 Asian Games after winning the men’s 100m butterfly final at the Munhak Park Tae-Hwan Aquatics Centre today (Sept 24).
The 19-year-old touched the board first in a Games record of 51.76secs, ahead of China’s Li Zhuhao, who took silver in 51.91, while Japan’s Hirofumi Ikebata took bronze (52.08).
He also becomes the first male Singaporean swimmer to win gold at the Asian Games, since Ang Peng Siong’s win in the men’s 100m freestyle at the 1982 Asiad in New Delhi.
Video: YouTube/Sport Singapore
It is also Schooling’s second medal of the Incheon Games, after he won a bronze in the 200m fly on Sunday.
“I’m relieved, but really happy. I went into the race confident that I could win. I was tightening up towards the end...That last stroke wasn’t the best finish, but I just tried to get my hand on the wall as fast as I could,” he said.
“I could hear them (his team-mates) cheering for me before I started. That’s all I could think about, them being behind me and lifting me.”
Schooling was the joint-fastest qualifier for the 100m fly with Japan’s Takuro Fujii after clocking 52.83 in the heats earlier this morning.
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