Joseph Schooling

Joseph Schooling, a former professional swimmer, has a diverse set of accomplishments in swimming, specializing in butterfly, freestyle, and medley events. He first rose to prominence when he qualified for the Olympics in 2012 after winning the "200m butterfly" at the 2011 SEA Games. His most significant achievement, however, was clinching the gold medal in the "100m butterfly" at the 2016 Olympics, making history as Singapore's first ever Olympic gold medalist. The record-breaking time of 50.39s he clocked during this event set multiple records at the National, Southeast Asian, Asian, and Olympic levels.

While still an active swimmer, Schooling also demonstrated his prowess through his collegiate swimming career at the University of Texas, where he was a member of the Texas Longhorns swimming team. He won multiple NCAA titles there, in both individual and relay events, setting NCAA and US open records in butterfly events and being part of teams that set records in various relay events. Additionally, he was the first Singaporean to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games, securing a silver in the "100m butterfly" at the 2014 games in Glasgow. He also set a new Asian Games record in the 100m butterfly during the 2014 Asian Games, marking Singapore's first gold in this category since 1982.

Upon his retirement from competitive swimming in 2024, Schooling focused on his swim school and other business ventures, including a recent position as an associate at Vertex Holdings. His contributions to Singaporean sports have been widely recognized, earning him multiple awards such as the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal) in 2016, the Straits Times Singaporean of the Year in 2016, and the Straits Times Athlete of the Year for 2014 and 2016. He has also been named Singapore's Sportsman of the Year multiple times, and in a unique honor, an Orchid was named after him: Dendrobium Joseph Schooling.