Singapore Olympic swim hero Joseph Schooling shaves head and enlists for national service
- Former Olympic champion starts two-year enlistment with long-term deferment ended after Tokyo Games
- ‘Bags packed, hair shaved, always ready to serve his country,’ says Schooling’s ‘proud’ mother May
Singapore’s former Olympic swimming champion Joseph Schooling has begun his two-year enlistment for national service.
The 26-year-old shared videos on his Instagram account of himself getting his head shaved on Sunday, in line with regulations.
His mother May Schooling later posted a picture of her son smiling with his new haircut, and posing with his thumbs up.
“Bags packed, hair shaved, always ready to serve his country. Proud mummy here,” she wrote, confirming in a reply to a comment on Monday that Schooling had “gone in today”.
Schooling won Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal with a shock victory in the 100 metres butterfly final at the Rio 2016 Games. He set an Olympic record (50.39 seconds) and earned himself S$1 million after edging out Michael Phelps, Laszlo Cseh, and Chad Le Clos into a tie for silver (51.14).
He had hoped his national service, which is compulsory for all Singaporean men once they turn 18, would be deferred past August.
Government rules in Singapore state that long-term deferment from full-time national service is only granted “very selectively for exceptional sportsmen”.
Schooling’s defence of his title fizzled out in Japan, where he finished last in 53.12 seconds during his 100m fly heat, and saw his Olympic record mark well beaten by America’s Caeleb Dressel in the semi-finals at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
He also failed to reach the semi-finals of the 100m freestyle, and said soon after his heats that he was keen to race in May’s world championships, July’s Commonwealth Games, and September’s Asian Games in Hangzhou.
But he will now complete two years of active duty as a full-time national serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force or Singapore Civil Defence Force.
“It would be tough for sure, because I’ve got so much more left in the tank,” Schooling told The Straits Times of being called up. He later insisted in a statement that he would be “honoured to serve”.
Schooling’s enlistment could also see him miss out on the 2024 Paris Olympics, by which time he would be 29, though Singaporean athletes can be granted time off to train for and compete at international competitions, so long as it does not clash with essential military duties.
