Longhorn athletes continued to be a fixture on the podium in the 2016 Olympics with junior swimmer Joseph Schooling taking gold for Singapore in the 100-meter butterfly.
The 21-year-old marked his second Olympics by not only beating decorated American swimmer Michael Phelps, but also winning Singapore its first-ever Olympic gold medal.
“It feels great, it kinds of feels surreal right now, it’s crazy,” Schooling told reporters from Channel News Asia. “I really can’t describe how this moment feels. All the adrenaline is running through my veins right now. It’s a dream come true.”
“I’m really honoured and privileged to swim alongside some of these great names, people who changed the face of our sport,” he added.
One of those great names acknowledged Schooling’s performance. “Schooling swam a hell of a race,” Phelps told reporters after the event, according to Texas Men’s Swimming and Diving.
Phelps gracious in defeat, says Schooling swam “a hell of a race.” #BevoInRio pic.twitter.com/ZtOAohHwWk
— Texas Men’sSwimDive (@TexasMSD) August 13, 2016
Schooling clocked in 50.39 seconds, edging South African Chad le Clos, Hungarian Lazlo Cseh and Phelps who all three tied for second place with a time of 51.14 seconds. His split broke the previous Olympic record of 50.58 seconds — a record previously set by Phelps in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Success in butterfly competitions isn’t anything new for Schooling. The junior swept all four butterfly events in his first two years at Texas. He also broke NCAA, NCAA Championship and U.S. Open records in the 100 and 200-meter butterfly events.
Texas swimming and diving’s all-time Olympic medal count now stands at 71, with 47 golds.
This story has been updated since its initial publication.
