SINGAPORE - Joseph Schooling's gold medal win will bolster sports development in Singapore, said President Tony Tan Keng Yam as he returns from his trip to the Olympic Games.

He wrote in a post on Facebook on Monday (Aug 15): "Schooling's exceptional performance at the Olympics is good for sports development in Singapore. It shows that one can achieve the extraordinary if one follows one's passion. I am confident that Schooling's win will inspire more young Singaporeans to follow their dreams."

Schooling, 21, set a new Olympic record with a time of 50.39sec, while Michael Phelps of the United States, Chad le Clos of South Africa and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary tied for silver with 51.14sec.

The President highlighted that it was the first time at the Olympic Games for two-thirds of the Singapore contingent, and that this is a good sign for Singapore sports.

He wrote: "Also heartened that 16 members out of the 25-strong contingent this year are making their debut at the Olympics. This bodes well for the future of Singapore sports.

"We look forward to seeing more of our athletes train and qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics," he said.

Dr Tan also said he was glad to support Singapore athletes competing at the Games in Rio deJaneiro.

"Many of them have worked very hard and made personal sacrifices in order to represent Singapore on the world's greatest sporting stage," he said.

He praised Schooling for clinching Singapore's first Olympic gold medal, and for finishing almost a second in front of three of the world's best 100m butterfly swimmers.

"Singapore is very proud of Schooling and his supporting crew for making history for Singapore," Dr Tan wrote.