Joseph Schooling off to disappointing start at NCAAs after missing out on 50-yard freestyle finals
National swimmer Joseph Schooling has kicked off his NCAA campaign in Minneapolis, Minnesota. TODAY FILE PHOTO
SINGAPORE – National swimmer Joseph Schooling got his campaign at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 Swimming Championships off to a disappointing start in Minneapolis, Minnesota, early Friday morning (March 23).
Competing in his first individual event, the men’s 50-yard freestyle preliminaries, the 22-year-old missed out on the ‘A’ final after clocking 19.20sec to finish sixth in Heat 5.
Former Bolles School teammate and fierce rival Caeleb Dressel, a three-time champion in the 50-yard freestyle, was in sizzling form on Friday. The University of Florida senior stormed home in a time of 18.11sec in the prelims to better his previous American and NCAA records of 18.20s.
University of Texas senior Schooling, who won gold in the men’s 100m butterfly at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, is competing in his final NCAA swimming championships before turning professional at the end of the year. He is scheduled to compete in three individual races – the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, and 200-yard butterfly – and four relay events (200-yard medley, 400-yard medley, 200-yard freestyle, 400-yard freestyle).
Schooling and his teammates also missed out on the ‘A’ final of the 400-yard medley relay after finishing ninth in a time of 3min 4.36sec in the preliminaries.
Fortunately for Schooling, it was not a fruitless morning for the Singaporean as he anchored Texas’ 200-yard freestyle team to fourth in the preliminaries in a time of 1:16.13. The University of California qualified first in 1:15.36, while NC (North Carolina) State University and Florida were second and third respectively in 1:15.34 and 1:16.59. Schooling will compete in the ‘A’ finals of the relay on Friday, 7am, Singapore time.
Schooling’s next individual race – the 100-yard fly preliminaries – on Friday evening will see the Olympic champion in a much-anticipated showdown with Dressel. The American, who stormed into the international spotlight after winning seven gold medals at last year’s Budapest World Championships, beat defending champion Schooling in the 100-yard fly at the 2017 NCAAs, and he will be gunning for gold again.
