SINGAPORE - Swim star Joseph Schooling was unveiled as the local ambassador of the Fina World Junior Championships - which will be held at the OCBC Aquatic Centre from Aug 25-30 - on Wednesday (June 17).
The biennial meet features male swimmers aged 15-18 and female swimmers aged 14-17. Over 1,000 swimmers from more than 100 countries will compete at the meet, making it the largest ever.
Schooling competed at the 2011 edition in Chile, where he swam in four events (50, 100, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley). World record holder Ruta Meilutyte and Japan's four-time Asian Games gold medallist Kosuke Hagino have also competed at the junior meet in previous years.
Said Schooling, who won nine golds in nine events at the recently-concluded Southeast-Asia Games: "I was fortunate to swim in the Junior Championships in Peru in 2011, and the memory will stay with me for the rest of my life.
"The competition is really intense... It's really good competition experience and it's a great meet to prepare young swimmers to compete at a high level."
Some 500 fans gathered at Kallang Wave Mall on Wednesday to meet the 20-year-old.
