Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifiable?

AsiaOne
Monday, Jul 30, 2012

A last minute change probably cost Joseph Schooling's Olympic debut when he finished 8th in his heat for the men's 200m fly event.

The 17-year-old swimmer failed to make it to the semi-finals after clocking 1min 58.18sec.

Just minutes before his swim, officials told him that his cap and googles were not in the list of brands approved for the London games. He said that this affected his focus, reported The Straits Times.

He tweeted right after his race that he was disappointed with his swim. "Right before I had to swim the officials tell me I can't use TYR... thanks for messing my swim," he wrote.

He was placed 26th out of 37 competitors in the event. Austria's Dinko Jukic was the fastest qualifier in 1:54.79, while American Michael Phelps, who was in the same heat, was fifth fastest in 1:55.53.

Schooling still has one more event - the 100m fly- on Aug 2, and he has shifted his focus from his disappointment to the upcoming match. He tweeted: "No worries. Tmr's a new day and 100 fly on Thursday. Great learning experience!" He also thanked "everyone for making him feel better" in a separate tweet.

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Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

If it wasn't for the cap and goggles issue, he'd probably have won a medal.

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

This what happen when organiser bride by the sponsor other brand not allow only sponsor brand allow.

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

TYR brand famous liao... He should blame his coach (Father) and those jiat liao bees Singapore Officials for not doing their job...

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

I agree. The Singapore officials should be punished for this, all the rules are stated and they didnt do their job.

saratogas said:

TYR brand famous liao... He should blame his coach (Father) and those jiat liao bees Singapore Officials for not doing their job...

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Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

should have used arena or speedo.

why nobody thought of a quick-fix solution? use a black permanent marker and paint away the tyr logo. that way the boy could continue using his favourite attire.

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

saratogas said:

TYR brand famous liao... He should blame his coach (Father) and those jiat liao bees Singapore Officials for not doing their job...

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Excuses, excuses, more excuses, cannot make it, say so, just say, " I have done my best, but they were better"!! period. Is he telling us, that the Olympic organizers didn't inform SINgapore of what brand of attire they cannot use? of course not!

Typical MIW's bred brat!...blame it on everything else, but himself!:p

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

Phelps won gold in 2008 olympics with water in his goggles in the last 150m of his swim.

"Even when his goggles malfunctioned during the first race of a golden morning in China, the gangly, 23-year-old American squinted through water-filled lenses on the way to, yes, a world record. Of course, he was none too happy to beat it by only six-hundredths of a second."

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/swimming/news/story?id=3532271

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

garlic said:

Phelps won gold in 2008 olympics with water in his goggles in the last 150m of his swim.

"Even when his goggles malfunctioned during the first race of a golden morning in China, the gangly, 23-year-old American squinted through water-filled lenses on the way to, yes, a world record. Of course, he was none too happy to beat it by only six-hundredths of a second."

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/swimming/news/story?id=3532271

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They forgot to fit Schooling with a GPS guidance system...

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

Hahaha, Ya loh...

If the same situation were to happen to Michael Phelps, and he came in at 8th placing, then everybody can argue there is a serious problem and an inquiry definitely is needed.

But schooling who still needs to go back schooling (rhyme sia) duno is what level by international ranking kpkb about last min change equipment affect performance, nobody also want to bother to hiew him.

Even he is using his desired gear, the most he can oni jump 2, 3 placings in front, what difference does it make?

STILL lose wat !!!

Dont tell me they wanna argue if never last minute change gear, he would have got no.1 and beat even Michael Phelps horr.

LMAO.

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

xiaogoupi said:

Hahaha, Ya loh...

If the same situation were to happen to Michael Phelps, and he came in at 8th placing, then everybody can argue there is a serious problem and an inquiry definitely is needed.

But schooling who still needs to go back schooling (rhyme sia) duno is what level by international ranking kpkb about last min change equipment affect performance, nobody also want to bother to hiew him.

Even he is using his desired gear, the most he can oni jump 2, 3 placings in front, what difference does it make?

STILL lose wat !!!

Dont tell me they wanna argue if never last minute change gear, he would have got no.1 and beat even Michael Phelps horr.

LMAO.

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A PRC 16 year old girl can beat him, even she swims in an not approved swim wear, NAKED!

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

Our people lack morals. Our athletes, be in real sinkie or ah tiong, all just lack basic sportmanship.

Really meritocracy at its best, PAP thinks they can bring the same formula everywhere.

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

Leongsam said:

If it wasn't for the cap and goggles issue, he'd probably have won a medal.

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iF IT WASN'T FOR THE CAP & GOGGLE ISSUE HE WOULD HAVE FLEW OFF THE POOL & LANDED IN THE NORTH SEA!!! But seriously does it matter much or is this fella trying to imitate his comprade's complain & trying to pull a fast one here?

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

team singapore officials :oIo:

now Sinkie looks stupid with official complaint to the International Olympic Committee


Late hiccup scuppers Schooling's hopes

He got a hug from his idol Michael Phelps, but Joseph Schooling must have wished it was a congratulatory one.

The Singaporean was consoled by the 14-time American Olympic gold medallist after a last-minute hiccup dashed the Olympic debutante's dreams.

Minutes before his 200m butterfly heat at London Olympic Park's Aquatic Centre yesterday, Joseph was told by an official his TYR cap and goggles were not on the list of approved equipment, forcing him to scramble for replacements.

The incident affected him so much he ended up posting a poor 1min 59.18sec - a far cry from his personal best of 1:56.67 - and missed out qualifying for the event's semi-finals.

The incident provoked an angry response from Jessie Phua, Singapore's Chef-de-Mission to the London Games, who has filed an official complaint to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC said it will pursue the matter with world swimming body FINA.

"It messed my whole game plan. I had to scramble and ask if I could (use) this or that (cap and goggles)," Joseph told reporters afterwards.

"… I was panicky. So I asked (the officials) what's my next option, and they told me they'd give me a free cap (that was approved). That made me deviate from my game plan."

The 17-year-old and his coach Sergio Lopez were unaware his TYR-branded cap and goggles were not approved.

"I'm not making any excuses, but they are telling me (so close to my race), it shocked me," said Joseph. "I just couldn't focus on my race ... It was just a very weird experience."

He finished 26th out of 36 competitors in the 200m fly. Austria's Dinko Jukic reached the semi-finals as the fastest qualifier in 1:54.79, and Phelps was the fifth fastest in 1:55.53.

Joseph's personal best time of 1:56.67 - it would have put him fourth in the United States Olympic trials earlier this month - saw him placed in the final heat, which included swimmers with the fastest times, including Phelps, Jukic and Australian Nick D'Arcy.

Not surprisingly, Phua is not letting the matter rest.

"We have been robbed. To do this to him so close to such a big race, how could he not have been affected?" Phua told TODAY.

"We will lodge a complaint. It will not change the result, but at least we want it on record that this happened."

TODAY understands the Singapore National Olympic Council and the Singapore Swimming Association had checked to ensure the equipment was legal, and sources believe the problem may be due to a mis-communication between FINA and the merchandiser on the list of approved caps and goggles.

FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu said while TYR is on the list of approved brands for swimwear for this year, it is not so for caps and goggles.

"The specifications, which is on our website, were sent to all National Olympic Committees, manufacturers and national associations, so this is very strange," he told TODAY.

When pointed out some other teams also used TYR caps and goggles, Marculescu insisted: "FINA rules are very clear. It doesn't matter which country you're from, if you are not wearing approved equipment, you cannot race."

While the inquest continues, Joseph's mother May said: "This must be sorted out quickly, because the swimmer should only be thinking about his race, not such things.

"He was very chirpy the night before, and aimed to clock about 1min 55secs. Now it's over for another four years, at least."

The 1.82m-tall teenager, a student at the Bolles School in Florida, said with the encouragement from his idol Phelps, he is determined to bounce back for Thursday's 100m fly heats.

"He looked at me and asked 'what's wrong?', and I told him what happened," said Joseph. "He gave me a hug and said I'm still young and I've got a long to way to go, just keep my head high and keep going on."

He added: "Champions don't give excuses. That's the past. I'm just going to focus and get ready for the 100m fly."

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

Leongsam said:

If it wasn't for the cap and goggles issue, he'd probably have won a medal.

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if it wasn't for the cap and goggles issue , he'd would definitely win a gold and with a new record to boot.

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

He(M.Phleps)added: "Champions don't give excuses. That's the past. I'm just going to focus and get ready for the 100m fly."

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That's the difference between a real champion and a sinkie.

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

i bet team sinkie officials are watching reruns of all the swimming events to spot swimmers in TYR caps and googles.

hurley said:

When pointed out some other teams also used TYR caps and goggles, Marculescu insisted: "FINA rules are very clear. It doesn't matter which country you're from, if you are not wearing approved equipment, you cannot race."

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Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

If he does not even know the rules, then why compete? It is amateurish to make assumptions.

Schooling's level is at the SEA Games.

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

"We have been robbed. To do this to him so close to such a big race, how could he not have been affected?" Phua told TODAY.


"We have been robbed. To import in so many 3rd class FTs, how could true blue sinkies not have been affected?" the people told PAP.

Re: Joseph Schooling blames lost on last min change of swimming cap&goggles. Justifia

"It messed my whole game plan. I had to scramble and ask if I could (use) this or that (cap and goggles)," Joseph told reporters afterwards.

"… I was panicky. So I asked (the officials) what's my next option, and they told me they'd give me a free cap (that was approved). That made me deviate from my game plan."



So game plan was to use illegal equipment and CHEAT to win?