Gold Medalist Joseph Schooling Will No Longer Participate at 2023 SEA Games

Singapore-based swimmer Joseph Schooling announced on Wednesday, March 1, that he is withdrawing from the forthcoming Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).

A bi-annual multisport event, the 2023 edition of SEA Games is set to happen in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from May 5-17.

“After careful consideration with my team, I have decided to pull out of the SEA Games,” the 27-year-old Olympic gold medalist said in a South China Morning Post report.

According to Schooling, he would instead focus on his National Service duties and “cheer” for his teammates from home.

“This was not an easy decision, but I am not currently at the level in which I hold myself to perform,” he said.

A professional athlete, Schooling came into prominence after winning Singapore’s first-ever gold medal in the 100 metre butterfly competition at the 2016 Olympics.

In 2022, he was suspended from participating in swimming competitions subsequent to his admission of engaging in the illicit consumption of cannabis in Vietnam.