SCHOOLING Joseph

General
RIO BLUES
He says that he became distracted from the sport in the months after winning gold in the 100m butterfly at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "Having so much attention, and on such a large scale, can be overwhelming, and you can definitely lose yourself. That was where I was from August to December [in 2016]. Now, I tell myself, 'Keep doing well, accomplish what you want to do. All the opportunities will come and you can enjoy them when you're done with swimming'." (swimswam.com, 15 Jun 2017)

DEFERRED MILITARY TIME
In October 2013 the Singaporean government agreed he could delay his national service until August 2016, which would allow him to focus on training ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In August 2016 it was announced his deferment had been extended until after the 2020 Games in Tokyo. "I'm doing this because I love my country. I want to bring pride and glory to my country. If you ask me if swimming itself is a form of national service, I couldn't answer that question. It's not up to me. My job is to swim." The deferment had been extended again due to postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (swimswam.com, 11 Aug 2020; straitstimes.com, 15 Aug 2016; yahoo.com, 02 Dec 2013; straitstimes.com, 21 Oct 2013)

He became the first athlete from Singapore to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games when he triumphed in the 100m butterfly at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (ONS, 14 Aug 2016; SportsDeskOnline, 05 Dec 2018)