Olympic gold medalist Schooling set for next phase at Asian Games

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The hardest lap for any swimmer is usually the one coming home.

That's when they have to try their hardest, giving it everything they have to get to the finish.

Singapore's Olympic gold medalist Joseph Schooling is about to discover what that means when he's not in the competition pool.

After spending the last nine years in relative anonymity in the United States, the 23-year-old Schooling is getting ready for the second half of his sporting career back in southeast Asia, knowing he probably won't be able to walk down the street or go for dinner without being noticed.

"It's everywhere but it shows that they support you and they're excited to see you, and so you can't complain," Schooling said. "You can never brush aside your fans. You've always got to reciprocate so I'm completely fine with it."

Schooling is competing at the Asian Games this week, where he has entered in the 50- and 100-meter butterfly, three relays and the 50 freestyle. He will bid to defend his title in the 100 butterfly on Wednesday.

Despite leaving Singapore in his teens to chase his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal, the island-state has always been in Schooling's heart. But so too has Texas, where he has been studying at University and training under the watchful eye of Eddie Reese.

Schooling will complete his economics degree later this year before returning to Singapore, but will take back two permanent reminders of his time in the US that changed his life.

One is the tattoo on his left shoulder of the University of Texas mascot, the Longhorn, with the words "come and take it" underneath. The other, inked after he won Rio, is the Olympic rings on his right bicep.

The Longhorns won the NCAA national title four years in a row while Schooling was on the team and he credits his time there for helping him win the ultimate prize when he beat American great Michael Phelps for the Olympic title in the 100 fly.

"It's great, it's a different atmosphere, great teammates," Schooling said. "I feel like it's the perfect environment for high performance."

Schooling wants to keep swimming through to the 2024 Olympics in Paris and, although he hasn't made a final decision on his training plans, he has spent the past few months practicing with Singapore's new high-performance unit and likes what he sees.

Australia's Stephan Widmer, who helped Libby Lenton and Leisel Jones win Olympic titles, has been appointed performance director at the institute while Gary Tan is the national head coach and Sonya Porter, who has extensive experience coaching in the US, is the technical director.

Schooling's biggest challenge could be how to deal with his celebrity status but after he held off Phelps on the biggest final lap of his life to date, he's confident he can manage.
"It takes some getting used to but at the end of the day if you focus on what you're doing and you don't care about outside distractions it's ok," he said. "I like being in that position and I don't see it as a burden at all."

source: philstar.com

Lacuna second to fall in Rio; places 46th in 400m freestyle

MANILA, Philippines – Jessie Lacuna is the second Filipino athlete to fall in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after finishing 6th in heat 2 and 46th overall in the 400m freestyle competition, Sunday morning.

Lacuna, one of the 50 swimmers to dispute the eight slots for the next phase, clocked 4:01:70, the second worst in heat 2. His finished 46th overall.

The 23-year-old swimmer from Ateneo de Manila University raced in a heat of seven swimmers.

His personal best in the 400m freestyle  is 3:59.75.

Venezuelan Cristian Quintero registered the quickest time in the same heat, but he wound up finishing 33rd in the final ranking.

American Dwyer Conor logged the best time of 3:43.42.

Lacuna, who currently holds the record 2015 SEA Games record of 2:00.9 in the 200m butterfly, is the second casualty the Philippine contingent suffered in the Games.

The Bulacan native also competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, where he ranked 36th in heat 2. He was the youngest athlete in that year's Philippine contingent.

Earlier, Ian Lariba bowed out of contention in the hands of naturalized Congo paddler and frequent training mate, Han Xing in the women's table tennis singles.

The Philippine crew is now down to 11 athletes.

Charly Suarez is next to see action. He will take on Great Britain's Joe Cordina in the men's lightweight boxing which begins Sunday, 5 a.m.

source: philstar.com

Enchong On Julia And His Non-Showbiz Girlfriends

MANILA, Philippines – Seemingly taking Radiohead's "True Love Waits" to heart is actor Enchong Dee, who has vowed to hold off his pursuit of Julia Montes till at least the actress turn 18.

Not that he has to wait for ages as Montes will be having her debut by March next year.

Still, Dee is already demonstrating utmost fervency in the quest declaring that this early, he had already forgone dating other women.

“’Wala na. It’s a choice din na ‘wag na,” Dee said during a recent appearance on "KrisTV."

As of the moment, Dee is keeping himself busy with work. He is currently promoting Star Cinema's “The Reunion,” which will hit

theaters next week. He is also preparing for his role in ABS-CBN’s upcoming drama series “Ina, Kapatid, Anak” alongside Xian Lim, Kim Chiu and Maja Salvador.

In the interview, Dee revealed that he only has had two romantic relationships so far. He insisted that the past rumors linking him to Kim Chiu and Erich Gonzales are just that, rumors.

Dee, who used to compete nationally as swimmer, said his first girlfriend was a Cebuana, whom he met in a training camp years ago.

“Kasi ‘pag swimming, ‘pag summer, ‘yun ‘yung pinaka-height ng training, merong ibang mga taga-probinsiya na nagpupunta sa amin. So may Cebuana na nagpunta sa amin, nakipag-training, tapos doon ko siya nakilala,” he said.

Romance eventually blossomed, Dee recalled, as the training progressed.

“Ang pupuntahan nung training na ‘yun, competition sa Bacolod. So ang galing, Bicolano ako, Cebuana siya, ta’s sa Bacolod nabuo [‘yung relasyon],” he said.

The relationship did not last long, however, as distance drove them apart. "Kasi long distance. Tsaka bata pa rin naman kami noon,” he said.

The actor said that he has maintained his friendship with the girl even as he became busy with his showbiz career.

“Nagkita kami one time kasi nagkaroon ako ng show sa Cebu, tapos nag-breakfast [kami]. Effort talaga, gising ka nang maaga para makita mo siya, makita mo ‘yung family niya. Pero ‘yun lang, friends na lang,” Dee said.

Dee's next relationship was with a girl he met while he was finishing his studies in De La Salle University-Manila. But just like his first, this one didn’t work out as according to Dee, "hindi ganu'n ‘yung bonding, unlike others.”

source: mb.com.ph

Michael Phelps DUMPS Baltimore Condo At $400,000 Loss

Michael Phelps didn't just take a beating in the 200m butterfly recently ... he also got his ASS kicked by the real estate market -- letting go of his swank Baltimore condo for $400,000 less than what he bought it for.

Phelps purchased the 4,080 sq. ft. home in Fells Point back in 2007 for $1.69 million -- but then the housing market crashed ... and so did the value of his home.

The 19-medal-winning swimmer listed the 3-bedroom pad earlier this year for $1.42 million -- but even that was asking too much ... because when he finally sold the place last week ... he could only get $1.25 mill.

For the mathematically challenged, that's a loss in value of $440,000 -- but it's just a drop in the bucket ... the guy's agent once predicted Phelps would earn roughly $100 million during his lifetime from endorsements.

Oh yeah, He's also THE GREATEST OLYMPIAN OF ALL TIME!

source: tmz.com

'Shattered' Thorpe vows to swim on

ADELAIDE — Ian Thorpe vowed to press on with his comeback despite his dream of swimming in the 200 metres freestyle at the London Olympics turning into a nightmare at Australia’s selection trials.

Five-time Olympic gold medallist Thorpe said he was “utterly gutted” after missing out on the 200m final at the trials Friday and with it forfeiting the chance to swim in the event he once dominated in London.

Thorpe’s hopes of competing at July’s Olympics now ride on the 100m freestyle, with the heats at the trials starting on Sunday.

Even if he cannot finish in the top two, he still has a chance of racing in the sprint relay in London by finishing in the top-six.

Thorpe, who launched his comeback after five years out of the sport, took some time to console himself after his 200m heartbreak before facing the media to express his profound disappointment with his performance.

He trailed in 12th fastest in the semifinals and his time of one minute 49.91 seconds was almost six seconds slower than his 2001 world record of 1:44.06 for the event. Thorpe broke the 200m world record six times in his stellar career.

But Thorpe said he would continue his comeback, starting with his daunting challenge in the 100m where he will be up against world champion James Magnussen, former world record holder Eamon Sullivan and the cream of Australia’s top sprinters.

“I intend to. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve been doing. I’ve enjoyed training again, I’ve enjoyed pushing myself in the pool and I’ll keep on swimming until I feel I cannot get any more out of myself,” Thorpe said after Friday’s setback.

“After tonight it would be a lot easier not to, but I have another race and I think I have another couple of preparations in me as well.

“I won’t keep training unless I think I can do that (return to elite level). That’s the thing that has motivated me and it is the only thing that will motivate me in the future.”

Thorpe must first overcome his bitter disappointment to set himself up for a shot at the top six in the hotly-contested 100m freestyle.

“You never know. Of the two races, this will be the tougher one to qualify for. That’s the way that it is,” he said.

“It’s not going to be easy, this whole thing was never going to be easy.”

Asked if his comeback had been worth the considerable effort, Thorpe said: “After feeling like that, the first thing is that it would have been a lot easier to have not even tried.

“I think it’s better to attempt something and fail than it is to not even attempt it, so I’m glad that I’ve been prepared to put myself on the line there.”

Australia head coach Leigh Nugent said Thorpe was an “enigma” and he felt for him.

“I feel for Ian. High performance has all sorts of risks to it. You’ve got to go with it and as he said it’s like a fairytale or a nightmare and last night Ian expressed it was a bit of a nightmare for him,” Nugent said at the pool on Saturday.

“Ian brings everything. He brought so much exposure, criticism, accolades, everything to Australian swimming.

“The guy is an enigma here and he’s like no one else in how people respond. The pool was packed last night and I haven’t seen that with anyone else here.”

source: japantoday.com