Schooling slams critics after SEA Games golden double

Singapore’s Joseph Schooling reacts after winning the men’s swimming 100m freestyle final event of the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) at the National Aquatics centre in Kuala Lumpur on August 24, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA

Olympic butterfly champion Joseph Schooling rounded on critics who say he’s swimming too slowly after he grabbed his fourth and fifth gold medals of the Southeast Games on Thursday.

Schooling said detractors could say what they liked as he won the 100m freestyle and anchored Singapore’s 4x200m freestyle relay victory to near his target of six gold medals in Kuala Lumpur.

“They can say whatever they want,” Schooling shot back, when asked about the criticism of his performances which has been circulating online.

“My goal is to come here and help the team as best as I can, win gold medals. That’s all I care about at this meet. You can’t always set best times, it’s fine.

“It’s all about me trying to help the team as best as I can and me trying to win as many individual events as I can.”

Schooling, who won 100m butterfly bronze at last month’s world championships, just a year after stunning Michael Phelps to claim the Olympic title, hasn’t tested his personal bests this week.

In the 100m freestyle, he was pushed all the way by Vietnam’s Hoang Quy Phuoc before winning in 48.93, outside the SEA Games record he set two years ago in Singapore.

In the relay, he pulled away in the last leg to help Singapore to win by more than six seconds, but their time didn’t beat the tournament record they set in their home pool in 2015.