‘Forever grateful’: Joseph Schooling to be inducted into International Swimming Hall of Fame
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Olympic gold medalist Joseph Schooling will be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fames on July 28.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – Olympic champion Joseph Schooling is set to become the first Singaporean to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, joining an illustrious list of athletes that include 23-gold Olympian Michael Phelps, swimming legend Mark Spitz and Chinese diver Fu Mingxia.
The Hall of Fame has announced the 11 inductees for 2025, which includes four swimmers: Schooling, the United States’ Anthony Ervin and Ryan Lochte, as well Italy’s Federica Pellegrini.
The honourees from nine countries include individuals from four new nations: Kuwait, India, Tunisia and Singapore.
The 60th Anniversary Honouree Induction Ceremony will be in Singapore, at the Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay on July 28 in conjunction with the World Aquatics Championships hosted in the Republic from July 11 to Aug 3.
Schooling, 29, made history in Rio 2016,
He was named Sportsman of the Year at the Singapore Sports Awards six times and also won three golds at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games, two bronzes at the world championships and 29 golds at the SEA Games. The butterfly specialist retired in April 2024.
Noting that he is “beyond honoured to be inducted”, Schooling said on Feb 11: “This achievement isn’t just mine – it belongs to my coaches, teammates, mentors, family and everyone who believed in me along the way.
“Swimming has shaped my life in ways I could never have imagined, teaching me discipline, resilience and the power of perseverance.
“To every young swimmer out there – chase your dreams fearlessly, embrace the grind and never stop believing in yourself.
“The water has given me so much and I’ll continue to give back to the sport that made me who I am.
“Thank you to the Swimming Hall of Fame for this incredible honour. I’m forever grateful.”
Freestyle sprint king and fellow 2025 inductee Ervin won gold in the 50m freestyle in Sydney 2000 and hung up his goggles in 2003, before making a stunning comeback in 2016 to reclaim gold in the same event aged 35.
Lochte is one of the most decorated swimmers in history with 12 Olympic medals (six golds) in the individual medley, backstroke and freestyle, as well as 18 long-course world championship golds.
Also in the group are Tunisian open water swimmer Ous Mellouli, who won Olympic golds in the pool (1,500m freestyle) and open water (10km) in 2008 and 2012 respectively; Hungarian water polo player Endre Molnar; Spanish artistic swimmer Andrea Fuentes; Chinese diver Chen Ruolin; three-time US Olympic coach Gregg Troy; and World Aquatics president Husain Al-Musallam.
The late swimmer Sachin Nag will also be honoured.
He won India’s only gold medal in swimming at the 1951 Asian Games, and also competed in swimming and water polo at the 1948 London Olympics.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame, which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a non-profit organisation.
Its museum is sanctioned by international sports federation World Aquatics as the “official repository for aquatic history”.
