CAPAS, TARLAC — Shockwaves echoed on Thursday evening here at the NCC Aquatics Center. And it was because a titan fell.
The 50m butterfly event of the 30th Southeast Asian Games swimming championships was expected to go to a Singaporean. But it did not go to Joseph Schooling.
In less than 24 seconds, Schooling’s four-year reign in the event ended. Moreover, it was his first-ever defeat in 25 finals in the regional meet.
And it came at the hands of his teammate Teong Tzen Wei.
It was a hard-fought race, to say the least, with the 22-year-old Teong clocking in at 23.55 seconds — just .06 split seconds ahead of the Olympian.
For Schooling, it could have gone either way.
“It was a hard race. Kudos to Tzen Wei, he did really well and had a great start,” said Schooling, who was gracious in defeat.
Schooling still had a smile on his face despite the setback. He remains proud of what his teammate had achieved — his first-ever gold in the biennial meet.
“I tried my best but sometimes, that’s the result. I’m not too disappointed obviously to see my teammate in front of me,” the 24-year-old continued.
“I’d rather have him in front of me than anyone else.”
For his part, Teong was just glad to share the pool with Schooling, as he is someone whom he looks up to and hopes to emulate one day.
“He’s my brother.
“We train in and out every day, and I just got this one and he’s got many ahead of him. I’m just happy that Singapore both got on the podium,” he said.
