The swimmer who beat Michael Phelps in the Rio 2016 Olympics’ 100m butterfly wasn’t just a competitor—he was also a fan.
Singapore’s Joseph Schooling, 21, secured his first medal and Singapore’s first gold by beating Phelps, a swimmer he had long admired and whom he met in 2008. A photo of the initial meeting is making rounds on the Internet.
“It’s all kind of a blank really,” Schooling said after beating Phelps. “I need time for all of this to sink in. Just being beside [Phelps], walking alongside him and celebrating—I’ll cherish that for the rest of my life.”
Schooling told the press that Phelps is one of the reasons he wanted to be a better swimmer, and that he’s looked up to him for a long time. “As a kid I wanted to be like him,” said Schooling, the New York Times reports.
Phelps tied for silver with two other swimmers, Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos of South Africa and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary.
- The Man Who Thinks He Can Live Forever
- Why We Can't Get Over the Roman Empire
- The Final Season of Netflix’s Sex Education Sends Off a Beloved Cast in Style
- How Russia Is Recruiting Cubans to Fight in Ukraine
- The Case for Mediocrity
- Paul Hollywood Answers All of Your Questions About The Great British Baking Show
- How Canada and India's Relationship Crumbled
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
