Joseph Schooling upbeat over his Aussie meet results

Joseph Schooling finished sixth in yesterday's 100m butterfly at the Australian Short Course Championships. He will be gunning to add to his tally of 23 golds from four SEA Games in the Philippines.
Joseph Schooling finished sixth in yesterday's 100m butterfly at the Australian Short Course Championships. He will be gunning to add to his tally of 23 golds from four SEA Games in the Philippines. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Joseph Schooling preferred to focus on the positives as he closed his Hancock Prospecting Australian Short Course Championships campaign by finishing sixth in the 100m butterfly yesterday.

Schooling clocked 52.36sec at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre, behind winner David Morgan (51.06sec) and four others.

The race proved a muted end for the swimmer, after he had won the 100m freestyle on Thursday and 50m fly on Friday, setting a national record in the former.

Said the 24-year-old: "I am a little disappointed to not make the podium today.

"But overall I am pleased with what I've set out to achieve at this stage of my preparations.

"I've seen the gains in the pool and that's reflected in my and the team's performance this week in Melbourne.

"It is all positive and we will continue to build on what we've achieved here and to continue to work towards our goals and to continue to believe."

On Thursday, Schooling said he felt he was "on the right track", as he gears up for the Nov 30-Dec 11 SEA Games in the Philippines.

At July's long-course world championships in Gwangju, South Korea, he was 24th and did not make it out of the 100m fly heats. He thus failed to retain the bronze he won in the previous two editions.

For the biennial SEA Games, which also serves as a qualifying meet for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Schooling will lead Singapore's charge in the pool at the New Clark City Sports Hub.

He will be gunning to add to his tally of 23 golds from four Games since Jakarta 2011.

There was joy for another of the Republic's swimmers yesterday, as Teong Tzen Wei set a national record in the men's 50m freestyle.

He clinched gold in 21.41sec, ahead of Ash Brinkworth (21.93sec) and Grayson Bell (21.98sec).

Teong's time bettered his previous mark of 21.72sec set at last year's Fina World Cup in Singapore. The 22-year-old also earned silver in the 50m fly event on Friday, sharing the podium with Schooling.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on October 27, 2019, with the headline Joseph Schooling upbeat over his Aussie meet results. Subscribe