S1E14: What Singapore can learn from Joseph Schooling's retirement

Hard Tackle

Did Singapore let its golden boy down in any way?

Synopsis: The Straits Times tackles the talking points in sport every second Wednesday of the month.

In this episode of Hard Tackle, we delve into the lessons from the recent retirement of Singaporean swimming sensation Joseph Schooling on April 2, 2024, at just 28 years of age.

Join ST Sports reporter Deepanraj Ganesan and assistant sports editor Rohit Brijnath as they host two guests - Singapore Aquatics president and former national swimmer Mark Chay and two-time Olympian David Lim.

They explore the implications of Schooling's decision and discuss how Singapore can draw valuable lessons from his meteoric rise to the 100m butterfly gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and his struggle after that historic win.

Could the Singapore sports ecosystem have done more for Schooling?

Is there a conversation about national service and high performance athletes and crucially, who will be Singapore swimming’s next superstar after Schooling?

We ask the hard questions, the guests respond, and now it is time for you to listen in on our debate.

Highlights (click/tap above):

3:00 Rohit Brijnath on how he felt after speaking to Schooling about his retirement

12:10 Why retirement was the better option for Schooling rather than going for success at regional competitions?

14:05 Could there have been better support for Schooling?

22:30 On how Singapore can do better in drawing on the knowledge, experience and ups and downs of our successful athletes

28:40 Why we need to have a closer look at how Schooling became a success

34:00 Will stakeholders have a conversation about NS and its impact on athletes?

Listen to our earlier episode with Joseph Schooling himself: https://str.sg/LFUG

Read: https://str.sg/JJJQF

Produced by: Deepanraj Ganesan ([e-mail]) & Amirul Karim

Edited by: Amirul Karim

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Chapters

1. What Singapore can learn from Joseph Schooling's retirement (00:00:00)

2. Thoughts after talking to Schooling retiring (00:03:00)

3. Why retire over regional success for Schooling (00:12:10)

4. More support for Schooling possible? (00:14:05)

5. How can Singapore utilise athletes' expertise? (00:22:30)

6. A need to look at Schooling's success closely (00:28:40)

7. NS impact on athletes: stakeholder discussion? (00:34:00)