Joseph Schooling became an overnight sensation in the swimming world with one race at a key point in his career, beating his childhood idol in the process. Now looking to build on that result, we take a look at the swim star who is hoping lightning strikes twice five years later as he tries to grab gold again in Tokyo. Biography The 26-year-old is Singapore ’s first and only gold medallist, which puts him in a category all of his own. He was born in the city state on June 16, 1995 and is a fourth-generation Singaporean of Eurasian ethnicity. His sporting drive dates all the way back to the age of six, when the youngster told his family he would compete in the Olympics, after hearing about his grand uncle and high jumper Lloyd Valberg, who became Singapore’s first Olympian at the 1948 Games. His competitive drive was noticed early on by his parents who nurtured his athletic ability. He left Singapore in 2009 at the age of 13 where he was quickly identified as having talent in the pool. He went on to an illustrious NCAA career where he was a member of the Texas Longhorns swimming team (he studied economics in the classroom), setting and breaking multiple collegiate records in a number of different strokes over his four-year tenure before graduation. He kicked off his international career in 2014 at the Asian Games, but it was his performance two years later that would shock the swimming world. On August 12 in Rio during the 2016 Summer Olympics , Schooling beat the legendary Michael Phelps, who was his childhood idol, in the 100m butterfly in a time of 50.39 seconds. The time set a new Olympic record, which was previously held by Phelps. Eight years before he beat Phelps, he met him in person in Singapore, and a photo of the meeting circulated widely after his win. Schooling will look to defend his title in the 100m fly at Tokyo 2020, but he will face some stiff competition, even though Phelps is out, and it will be from a wide variety of swimmers including American Caeleb Dressel, Hungary’s Kristof Milak and Chad Le Clos of South Africa. Schooling told Tatler he thinks this time around it is going to be more than a two-man battle: “I think it’s going to be a very different race. At the top, the discrepancy is going to be a little more than what it was in Rio. Whatever it is, it’s going to be one heck of a ride.” How much money did he get for winning an Olympic gold medal? Schooling got S$1 million for his Olympic win from the Singaporean government, however some of it went to the Singapore Swimming Association. The prize is believed to be one of the largest Olympic cash prizes given to an athlete by a country, and caused an issue with the NCAA, who are notoriously strict when it comes to cash prizes for its athletes. There was also a lavish parade held for Schooling in Singapore shortly after he won the medal and returned to his homeland to celebrate. Schooling, who became an overnight success, said he chose to quickly embrace his new-found celebrity rather than fight it, as a way to deal with the immediate influx of attention. He has also made a substantial amount of money outside of the pool after his victory. In the interview with Tatler he discussed his seven-figure sponsorship deals with the likes of Toyota, Hugo Boss, Tag Heuer and DBS Bank. Schooling recently launched a swim school, Swim Schooling, and a fitness app, Schooling Sport.