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Rio 2016: No service! Schooling can stay in pool

Swimmer Joseph Schooling got a rapturous welcome, a selfie with the Prime Minister and a four-year exemption from military service when he came home in triumph early Monday with Singapore’s first Olym

Swimmer Joseph Schooling got a rapturous welcome, a selfie with the Prime Minister and a four-year exemption from military service when he came home in triumph early Monday with Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal.

“Joseph, I love you!” a fan screamed as he emerged into the arrivals hall wearing his gold medal and a red jacket.

Some 500 people turned up before dawn to welcome Schooling, who set an Olympic record of 50.39sec when he beat his boyhood idol Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, in the men's 100m butterfly final in Rio at the weekend.

The 21-year-old also won a four-year exemption from compulsory military service so he can prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Games where he is expected to peak.

Schooling already had a three-year deferment ending after Rio 2016, but his sensational performance made another extension a formality.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen announced he need not perform military service until after Tokyo 2020, wising him “continued success in the next Olympic Games.”

Only four other athletes — three in swimming and one in sailing — have received such deferments.

The swimmer, who will receive Sg$1.0 million ($743,000) as part of a programme aimed at encouraging school-obsessed Singaporeans to excel in sport, immediately hugged his waiting father Colin, 68, who was unable to make the long journey to Rio after falling ill.

They posed for a family picture with his mother May, 61. “Thank you, everyone, for being here so early in the morning,” Schooling told the welcoming crowd.

PM seeks selfie! Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took a selfie with the athlete before the session and posted it on Facebook.

“Usually people ask me for selfies, but today I felt so proud to ask Joseph for one!” he wrote.

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