Joseph Schooling’s Father, Colin Schooling, Dies At Age 73; Has Been Battling Cancer

When Joseph Schooling was competing in the Olympics, it turned out that his father was battling cancer.

However, if you’ve been following Joseph’s parents’ Instagram account, you’d know that Joseph Schooling’s father, Colin Schooling, has been undergoing treatment for cancer since June this year.

 

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A post shared by May (@cmjschooling)

Today, Mr Schooling has passed on at the age of 73.

Joseph Schooling’s Father, Colin Schooling, Dies At Age 73; Has Been Battling Cancer

It’s not revealed whether he has died due to cancer complications, but in the last Instagram post of the joint account, it’s mentioned that Mr Schooling is in a high dependency ward due to a “(mutant) bug in his lungs.”

 

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A post shared by May (@cmjschooling)

In one of their posts, they’ve also said the “bad guy” is a “sneaky little bugger, hiding in the liver.”

A Schooling family spokesperson said, “Reginald Colin Schooling passed away today at the Singapore General Hospital with his loving family by his side.

“Colin was a giant among men. He would always tell you what he thought, no holds barred. We will miss him tremendously. The Schooling family would like to thank everyone for their support and words of comfort during this tough time.

“We respectfully appreciate the privacy given to the family during this period.”

Mr Schooling, together with his wife, was one of the key pillars in bringing in Singapore’s first Olympic gold medalist, having spent about $1 million to send Joseph Schooling to train in the US after he turned 13. To fund that, they have to sell a house in Perth and cash out on an endowment plan.

Mr Schooling himself was a sportsman, having been a national softball player in his youth. That was also when he met his wife, May Schooling, during a softball competition.

Mrs Schooling referred to Mr Schooling as a “tough fighter”, and said that he “is a character on its own.”

Joseph Schooling has since posted a black-and-white image of him with his dad when they were young:

 

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A post shared by Joseph Schooling (@josephschooling)

The Singapore Swimming Association also paid tribute to Mr Schooling in a Facebook post, saying, “Colin was a strong supporter of the SSA and the swimming ecosystem here in Singapore, and was instrumental in Joseph’s rise to becoming Singapore’s first and currently only Olympic Gold Medalist.”

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Featured Image: Instagram (@josephschooling & @cmjschooling)