2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Swimming: August 6-13
- Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Barra Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro
- Prelims – 9:00 a.m/12:00 p.m PST/EST (1:00 p.m local), Finals – 6:00 p.m/9:00 p.m PST/EST (10:00 p.m local)
- SwimSwam previews
- Rio Schedule & Results
- Live Stream (NBC)
Since making his first Olympic appearance at the London 2012 Games, Singapore’s Joseph Schooling has been a man on a mission. This week in Rio, Schooling aims to become the first ever swimmer from Singapore to earn an Olympic medal, and he’s in good position to do so after a stellar swim in tonight’s semifinals.
Heading into the final, Schooling is the top seed with his new Asian Record time of 50.83. That lowered his previous best time of 50.96, which he set at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan to become the first Singaporean swimmer to win a World Championships medal.
The way he’s been swimming at this meet, Schooling has brought himself into the gold medal conversation, especially given that medal favorites Chad Le Clos and Laszlo Cseh haven’t been swimming as fast as expected up to this point. Le Clos, who won the 200 fly at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, missed the podium in the 200 fly here. Cseh finished a disappointing 7th after a strong showing at the 2015 World Championships that saw him win the 200 fly in Kazan.
To win the gold, however, Schooling has to accomplish something that no one has ever done at an Olympic Games. He’ll have to beat the legendary Michael Phelps. Since his first Olympic bid in the 100 fly at the 2004 Games in Athens, Phelps has never lost the event on the Olympic stage. Tomorrow night, he’ll be looking for his 4th straight title in this race.
The 100 fly final will be Phelps’ last individual race ever, and Schooling’s last chance to go head-to-head with him on the international stage. If Schooling can pull of the upset, Singapore’s first ever swimming Olympic medal will be gold.
Asian Swimming Medal Table Through Rio Day 6:
| COUNTRY | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | TOTAL |
| JPN | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| CHN | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| KAZ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Asian Records Broken on Day 6:
| Swimmer | Event | Time | Record |
| Claudia Lau | 200 Back | 2:10.94 | Hong Kong Record |
| Joseph Schooling | 100 Fly | 50.83 | Asian Record |
| Joseph Schooling | 100 Fly | 50.83 | Singaporean Record |