Olympic champion Schooling struggles at world swim meet
GWANGJU, South Korea (AP) — For all its spoils, winning an Olympic gold medal has its downsides. Joseph Schooling is finding that out.
The swimmer who became a national hero by winning Singapore’s first Olympic medal in 2016 is searching to regain his form in time for next year’s Tokyo Games.
Schooling failed to advance in the 100-meter butterfly heats at the world championships on Friday. He finished 24th overall with a time of 52.93 seconds — well off his winning time of 50.39 in Rio.
In the last two world meets, he earned bronze medals in his signature event.
Schooling also didn’t make it out of the 50 fly heats, finishing 20th overall in 23.73.
He calls his results “a huge reality check” for what he needs to work on in preparing to defend his 100 fly title in Tokyo.
