Last Updated on 2021-08-02 , 3:42 pm
How many of us can proudly live to tell a tale that we’ve competed in the Olympics?
Not many.
As Olympians, being eligible to participate in that distinguished event means two things:
- They have displayed phenomenal athletic abilities
- They have achieved outstanding results in their respective sport
As our 23 athletes compete for Team Singapore in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, one seemed to have faced extra difficulties.
Joseph Schooling’s Father was battling cancer when Schooling was competing in the Olympics
On Thursday (29 July), Joseph Schooling came in last in his 100m butterfly heat as he clocked a time of 53.12s. His timing landed him 44th overall out of 55.
This meant that he, unfortunately, didn’t qualify for the semi-finals of the event.
Only the top 16 get to do so.
While many Singaporeans were disappointed at the result, others didn’t hesitate to shoot harsh criticisms at Schooling.
It turns out that hasn’t been the only hurdle Schooling had to deal with.
The father of the 26-year-old Olympian, Colin Schooling, has been diagnosed with cancer.
Mr Schooling’s diagnosis and treatment were shared publicly through a series of posts on his wife’s Instagram account.
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View this post on InstagramÂ
 It started as early as mid-June this year. So this news should not be foreign for followers of the Schooling family as they should have been informed.
Schooling applauded for his perseverance
The pressure on Joseph’s shoulders must be immense. Despite so, he strived to compete in hopes of bagging another medal for Singapore.
Yesterday (31 July), ONE Championship CEO Mr Chatri Sityodtong spoke up to defend Joseph.
He wrote about Mr Schooling’s cancer publicly on Facebook and lauded Joseph for his tenacity against all odds.
Chatri said in one paragraph: “Joseph has not only had the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he has also been going through tough times in his personal life. He is never one to make excuses though.”
Chatri also carried on by noting: “Let us remember that he brought honor and glory to Singapore when he became the first and only Olympic Gold Medalist in history from the Little Red Dot. Let us remember that Joseph beat the greatest of all time, Michael Phelps, and that Joseph remains one of the best swimmers in the world today.”
President Halimah Yacob speak up against negative comments on Joseph Schooling
Several government leaders have spoken up against unconstructive comments in view of Schooling’s exit from the Tokyo Olympic Games.
President Halimah Yacob was one of them to pay tribute to his efforts.
Madam Halimah accounted on Facebook last Friday (July 30): “I feel sad looking at how unkind we can be towards each other.”
She added: “One moment, we carry people to the highest pedestal with our words, yet the next moment we thrash them to the ground just because they fail to live up to our expectations.”
Learn how to be a better person here:
Read Also:
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Featured Image: Instagram (cmjschooling) ; Hafiz Johari/ shutterstock.com
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