Singapore’s swimming Olympic Champion Joseph Schooling will be swimming at the upcoming Neo Garden 14th Singapore National Swimming Championships taking place at the OCBC Aquatic Centre from June 20 to 23.
This is the first time in six years that Joseph will be competing in a local swimming championship in Singapore.
He last competed in the 2012 Singapore National Swimming Championships after the London Olympics.
It will also be his first competition this year following the conclusion of his NCAA career at the end of March.
Said the 22 year-old, “It has been a while since I raced in the Singapore National Swimming Championship and I am looking forward to it. I have been training with the team since my return and am loving being back home. The Singapore National Swimming Championship is part of my and the team’s preparations for the upcoming Asian Games and we will see some fast times from the team.”
For the first time ever in any national swimming championships held here in Singapore, the Mare Nostrum Monaco racing format will be adopted by the Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) at the championships for all 50m sprint events at the championships.
Called the Neo Garden Sprints, the races will take place on Saturday, 23 June, during the heats in the morning, and the finals in the evening.
The format is essentially a knock out swimming format, whereby the number of swimmers will be reduced through each round of racing, with a total of 4 rounds in the day.
SSA Vice-President for Swimming, Joscelin Yeo, was full of support for the new race structure.
“This format creates more opportunities for quality racing, and it challenges the mental and physical capacity of the swimmer towards a high performance environment. Moreover, this engaging and exciting swimming concept will definitely be a treat for the spectators in attendance.”
“It is the first time that I am racing in this format, and it is definitely going to be exciting, I think the fans will enjoy it and I cannot wait to compete”, added Schooling.
Admission to the event is free.