52ND SINGAPORE NAT’L AGE GROUP MAJOR GAMES QUALIFIER
- March 15th – March 20th
- OCBC Aquatic Centre
- Asian Games & Commonwealth Games Qualifier
- LCM (50m)
- Recap #1
- Results
On the heels of the Quah siblings having all three qualified for the 2022 Asian Games taking place in September, an even bigger star made his presence known on subsequent days of this Singapore Major Games Qualifier.
2016 Olympic champion Joseph Schooling dove in for his first races since finishing 44th in his signature 100m butterfly last year at the postponed Games in Tokyo
The former Texas Longhorn took on the men’s 50m fly on Wednesday, along with the 100m fly on Thursday, making the cut for the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games in both events.
First, in the 50m fly, the 26-year-old punched a time of 23.78 to easily clear the 24.35 standards needed for Hangzhou while also dipping under the 23.96 mark needed for Birmingham.
Next in the 100m fly, Schooling also notched his name onto the consideration roster, registering a final time of 52.09 to snag silver behind teammate Teong Tzen Wei.
Teong touched just a hair faster in 52.04 after opening in 23.75 to Schooling’s 24.21. For Teong, this time of 52.04 registered as a big-time personal best, overwriting the 25-year-old’s previous PB of 52.55 logged in December of 2020.
As for Schooling, his 52.09 easily beats out the 53.12 he put up in Tokyo, which rendered him in the aforementioned 44th place. The fastest Schooling has been since Rio is the 51.04 he registered for gold at the 2018 Asian Games.
The Asian Games time minimum for the men’s 100m fly is 53.00 while the Commonwealth Games standard is marked at 53.11 for Singapore’s swimmers.
Of note, behind Teong and Schooling, Quah Zheng Wen also scored an A qualifying time of 52.86 while Ong Jung Yi followed suit in 52.93.
Post-race, Schooling told The Straits Times, “It’s good to be back racing and even better to qualify for the Asian Games. It has a very special place in my heart and I can’t ask for a better start to the week.”
Schooling entered his nation’s military service as of this past January after having received deferments through 2021.
I really thought him being unable to defer his military service meant an effective end to his career. Great to see him competing again, and hope he can mount a comeback throughout the season.
52 flat while in the military sure sounds promising
Did anyone else see that Kyle Chalmers pulled a Joseph schooling yesterday or two days ago on his ig story. Someone asked him what his fastest ever swim in practice was, and he said he went a 46.7. He said it’s unfortunate that he just hasn’t been able to replicate that in a race yet. He sounded a lot more genuine and positive compared to Joseph tho, who just sounded a bit arrogant
I’m pretty sure he was taking the piss given his answers to some of the other questions.
It was a joke.
was fun watching him and Incerti having some fun on instagram yesterday
Honestly, I think him being in military service can actually be a blessing in disguise. Sure, it takes away his time in the pool, but maybe that’s kinda what he needs after being in the spotlight (good or bad) for years, and it takes off the pressure of performing well so he can just focus on training and getting back into shape.
I’m definitely not ready to count him off just yet. Even the legendary Eddie Reese called Schooling one of the most talented swimmers he has ever seen, so I wanna see Schooling live up to that and maximize his potential.
Schooling went 50.7 at 2017 worlds, so that is his fastest since rio
I figured we had seen his last race after he announced starting his military service. Glad to see him swim faster than last year.
Also, the practice jokes are such a dead horse. Will be pleased to not see anymore.
My brain is so broken by those that I saw the headline to this post and added, “… IN PRACTICE?!?” to the end.
Help me
and it felt monotone
Rumor has it he was pi*sed after seeing Dressel throw down at the Westmont Pro Series
So he is doing the military service and still training?
Oh?