"Let's go Schooling!" Olympic champ welcomed by ACS juniors

Olympic champion Joseph Schooling got up bright and early for a visit to his alma mater Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) at Winstedt Road on Tuesday morning (Aug 16), local media reported.

He studied there from 2002 to 2007, and spent another two years studying at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) before moving to Bolles School in Florida, US in 2009.

According to The Straits Times, Schooling greeted former teachers and joined his juniors during morning assembly, with the excited pupils chanting "Let's go Schooling!" as the ACS old boy entered the school hall.

The 21-year-old swimmer shared his dreams and aspirations with the pupils:

"What I realised is that you can't sell yourself short. It's great to achieve your goals, but you can't be content with achieving your goals for too long."

"You've got to move on and shoot for bigger and better things," he added.

When asked about the toughest training he had done when he was in primary school, he replied: "We had to do 30 sets of 100 fly, but we ended up doing only 20, that was the hardest (set) I've done and I failed miserably. I fail more than I succeed."

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In a video clip on Twitter, Schooling was also seen sharing his gold medal with two young pupils on stage. The audience cheered when one of the boys passed it on to his schoolmate.

Schooling won a gold medal in the men's 100m butterfly final at the 2016 Olympic Games, beating swimming legend Michael Phelps. He also set an Olympic record of 50.39 sec in his event.

The swimmer was given a standing ovation for his sporting achievements in Parliament on Monday afternoon (Aug 15), and also received a big homecoming earlier that morning by hundreds of fans at Changi Airport.

Schooling will spend about four days in Singapore before returning to the United States to continue his studies on Friday.

He said that he is seeking permission from his university to stay longer in Singapore for the National Day Rally, which will be held this Sunday at 6.45pm.

minlee@sph.com.sg