Commentary: It's time for Joseph Schooling to enjoy being 'normal', he's more than earned it by being exceptional

SINGAPORE: Eight years after he stepped out to blinding camera flashes and a brand new world, Joseph Schooling's life is set to change once again.

On Tuesday (Apr 2), Singapore's only Olympic champion announced his retirement from swimming at the age of 28.

It was a decision that felt somewhat inevitable in recent years.

BEING "NORMAL"

In response to a question at a media event on Tuesday, Schooling said he was looking forward to being "a normal guy".

But nothing about Schooling has ever been normal, not by any stretch of the imagination. This was a boy who left for Bolles School in Florida at the age of 14, driven by the pursuit of a dream.

Backed by a set of exceptional parents, the boy morphed into a man who achieved a feat that was anything but normal. 

Schooling's victory at Rio in 2016 was a triumph shared by the nation. He was feted like a king on his return, with fans at the airport chanting and screaming his name. Swim schools in Singapore saw an enrolment boost from mini Schooling hopefuls, brands clamoured to work with him and fans obsessed over what he ate or who he was seeing.

Sporting heroes have come and gone, their names scrolled into the annals of sporting history, but the memories of them fade with the generations.

Schooling's legacy is undoubtedly etched deeper. After all, this was the man who outswam the legendary Michael Phelps and made Majulah Singapura ring at the Olympic Games.

And now is his time to enjoy being "normal", to enjoy a side of life he's passed up on in favour of laps and laps in the pool. He's more than earned it.

KNOWING WHEN TO LEAVE

When it comes to the decision of whether to stay or to go, each athlete faces their own unique set of challenges and circumstances.

Some choose to press on, bound by a sense of responsibility to their team.

Take men's water polo captain Lee Kai Yang, who took stepped away from the sport for three months after a disappointing 2019 SEA Games, but returned to reclaim gold for Singapore four years later.

In Lee's case, there was unfinished business, the "element of responsibility" to leave his team in a good spot.

"I definitely wasn't going to stop until I got it back and I think that was the sentiment for many of my teammates too," he told CNA on Tuesday.

While there are a number of athletes who compete well into their late 30s and 40s, the typical retirement age for athletes is said to be usually between 28 and 32.

But there is no hard and fast rule.

We've seen how great athletes such as tennis player Steffi Graf and American football legend Barry Sanders quit while they were at the pinnacle of their sport.

There are also others who call time when love wanes. There was a sense of that with Schooling, who told reporters that he did not "enjoy the grind" anymore.

"I still remember when I was four years old, I used to be so excited to hop into the unreasonably freezing pool ... Fast forward to where we are today. I woke up not feeling the same excitement to go to practice," he said.

Could Schooling have made the decision earlier? Perhaps.

After all, his performances had been on a downward trend for a couple of years. As he admitted, after Rio, complacency set in, mistakes were made, lessons were learnt.

But at the heart of it all is the fact that Schooling is a competitor.

He wanted badly to defend his 100m butterfly title at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics but failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Schooling was even considering the possibility of competing at this year's Paris Olympics.

"I'd always told myself that I'd finish when I was 29," Schooling said. "(But) sometimes things change. I believe that this change is for the better, and my time just came a bit earlier than expected."

FINDING A NEW SENSE OF PURPOSE

With retirement, athletes will need to face a new set of challenges, most notably the existential question of who they are.

Former NBA superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once described professional athletes as "shooting stars".

"They burn bright as they flame across the sky, then suddenly fade into quiet darkness," said the Los Angeles Lakers legend in an article for the Guardian.

"All our lives we've been doing our specific sports, training all our lives and sacrificing since a very young age ... The time frame of us competing and representing the nation is actually quite short as compared to the hours and days we spend training. Not many people see it," footballer Lionel Tan told CNA on Tuesday. 

"It would be very, very difficult (to leave)."

Finding a new sense of purpose and identity beyond the pool will intimidating and daunting, as Schooling has admitted.

But importantly, it is a change he believes will bring him the same sense of excitement that swimming used to. Looking ahead, he plans to explore the areas of finance and sports, and grow his swim school.

For Schooling, a new journey is beginning, one he says he has started on his own terms. Soon he will be coach more than competitor, spokesperson more than sportsman. But one thing will remain.

Schooling will always be the Singaporean who on Aug 13, 2016, inspired a nation to dream. To dream of being exceptional, rather than normal.

Matthew Mohan is a correspondent at CNA. He specialises in sports reporting, and has covered the Olympics, World Cup, Asian Games and a number of Southeast Asian Games.