Ειδήσεις Ελλάδα
Comment on this story
Comment
SINGAPORE — Joseph Schooling, Singapore’s only Olympic gold medalist, has been effectively suspended from training and competing after the swimmer admitted to consuming cannabis overseas.
Schooling catapulted to international fame when he beat his childhood idol Michael Phelps in the men’s 100-meter butterfly race at the 2016 Rio Summer Games, clinching the Southeast Asian nation’s first ever Olympic gold medal. He is currently serving mandatory military service and will no longer be given leave to train and compete during conscription, Singapore’s Defense Ministry said.
The 27-year-old is serving in the military at an age when many elite swimmers are near peak performance, and the suspension could take him out of the running for major competitions, including the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia. (Schooling has previously said he is considering retiring from professional swimming.) He will also be required to undergo urine tests for six months.
“I am sorry that my actions have caused hurt to everyone around me, especially to my family and the young fans who look up to me. I gave in to a moment of weakness after going through a very tough period of my life,” Schooling, who also swam for the University of Texas at Austin, said in a Tuesday night statement. “I will make amends and right what is wrong. I won’t let you down again.”
Singapore has some of the world’s strictest drug laws and punishes citizens who use drugs even when they are consumed abroad. Those charged with cannabis consumption face up to 10 years behind bars and a large fine; and anyone caught with more than 1.1 pounds of marijuana or 0.5 ounces of heroin can be hanged. Conscripts who test positive for drugs can be sentenced to a nine-month term in military detention.
Schooling was Singapore’s most beloved athlete. Known as the island’s “Golden Boy,” he returned from the Rio Olym to the cheers of thousands of supporters in a victory tour. The local Straits Times newspaper named the Schooling family Singaporean of the Year in 2016, and he was awarded a roughly $700,000 cash prize by the country’s National Olympic Council.
But many fans turned on him when he failed to qualify for the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, coming in last in the 100-meter butterfly heat. The swimmer was subject to so much online vitriol that Singapore’s president stepped in and urged citizens to lay off.
Schooling’s father, who supported him throughout his career, died last year of liver cancer. The swimmer has also spoken of how pressure affected his mental health.
Schooling and another Singaporean swimmer, Amanda Lim, were investigated by Singapore’s drug enforcement agency, according to Sport Singapore, the country’s national sports body. Schooling’s urine sample came back clean, but the swimmer admitted to using cannabis abroad. He had competed in this year’s Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, where he won two gold medals and a bronze. It is not clear what prompted the initial investigation.
Marijuana use among young people in U.S. at record high, study says
“Drugs have no place in our society and we take a zero-tolerance stance towards illegal drug use,” said Singapore Swimming Association President Mark Chay, according to local media reports. “This message, along with the expectations for our national athletes to uphold the highest standards of conduct, will be strongly reinforced amongst our community through our national coaches and affiliates.”
In January, Schooling enlisted for military service, which is required of all male citizens, but was granted leave for training and competitions.
Studies have shown that cannabis use is generally neutral or detrimental to athletic performance, though there is eence it can help reduce anxiety and muscle pain.
Schooling is not the only athlete to be suspended over marijuana use. In July 2021, U.S. sprinting champion Sha’Carri Richardson received a one-month suspension after urine tests showed the presence of THC, a component in marijuana. Richardson, one of the fastest runners in U.S. history, was not able to compete in the subsequent Tokyo Summer Games. And in 2009, Phelps was suspended for three months after a photo of him holding a marijuana pipe to his mouth was published by a British tabloid.
