Singapore Olympic swim hero Joseph Schooling shaves head and enlists for national service
- Former Olympic champion starts two-year enlistment with long-term deferment ended after Tokyo Games
- ‘Bags packed, hair shaved, always ready to serve his country,’ says Schooling’s ‘proud’ mother May
Singapore’s former Olympic swimming champion Joseph Schooling has begun his two-year enlistment for national service.
The 26-year-old shared videos on his Instagram account of himself getting his head shaved on Sunday, in line with regulations.
His mother May Schooling later posted a picture of her son smiling with his new haircut, and posing with his thumbs up.
“Bags packed, hair shaved, always ready to serve his country. Proud mummy here,” she wrote, confirming in a reply to a comment on Monday that Schooling had “gone in today”.
Schooling won Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal with a shock victory in the 100 metres butterfly final at the Rio 2016 Games. He set an Olympic record (50.39 seconds) and earned himself S$1 million after edging out Michael Phelps, Laszlo Cseh, and Chad Le Clos into a tie for silver (51.14).
He had hoped his national service, which is compulsory for all Singaporean men once they turn 18, would be deferred past August.
