After a difficult 2021, Joseph Schooling looks ahead to SEA Games while embracing National Service

SINGAPORE: There are still puddles on the ground when Joseph Schooling sits down with journalists on a quiet Saturday afternoon (Apr 23). 

The storm that briefly lashed Tanah Merah Country Club has passed. Instead, the skies are blue. There is a faint breeze and the sun is blazing.

In some ways, this is what 2022 feels like for Schooling. A fresh start after a turbulent year. 

“Every time there's a storm, it's going to be sunshine and rainbows on the end,” Schooling told CNA.

“You’ve got to muscle down and get through the storm. So last year was a pretty big freakin’ storm. But (for) 2022 … (I’ve) got a couple of major games coming up this year. Mum's happy ... So just those two things are enough to keep me going.”

Schooling endured a challenging 2021 which saw him unable to defend his Olympic title in the 100m butterfly event. He clocked 53.12s in his heat at the Tokyo Olympics and did not progress beyond the semi-finals of the event. He was 44th overall. 

“2021 was probably in and out of the pool like level zero. So anything’s better than that year,” said Schooling, who is currently serving full-time National Service. 

Later in the year, Schooling’s father Colin died at the age of 73. He had been undergoing treatment for cancer in the months before.

Colin, along with his wife May, played a key role in Schooling’s rise to swimming stardom, which culminated in their son's gold medal performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics. 

Dealing with the loss of his father is “an ongoing process”, said Schooling.

“I think it takes years or maybe you go on your whole life feeling like something's amiss. And that's just an indication of (the fact that) you really cared for him, you really loved him.

“It is painful, it's painful every day. But at the