History For Singapore’s Joseph Schooling (50.39) In 100 Fly & Crowded Podium Party

Every Olympic year, the prediction game makes its way around the sport, fans contemplating the way the podiums will look. The exercise was no different in this Olympic campaign, the forecasts constantly evolving in the leadup to the Games in Rio.

As the men’s 100 butterfly went under the microscope, it was obvious a big name in the event – and the sport – would be left off the medals stand. Of the quartet of Michael Phelps, Joseph Schooling, Laszlo Cseh and Chad Le Clos, someone wasn’t getting a piece of hardware. Um, not so fast was the reply of the Aquatic Gods.

Unloading a textile-best performance, Singapore’s Schooling did something that nobody else has managed here (or often in history), and he did it in dominant fashion: Beat Phelps. Going coast-to-coast at the front of the field, Schooling touched the wall in 50.39, a hundredth of a second quicker than Ian Crocker’s iconic effort from the 2005 World Championships in Montreal.

As Schooling powered to the finish, his victory under no doubt, Phelps, Cseh and Le Clos battled the minor medals. They ended up sharing the same one, each them registering a time of 51.14 for a three-way share of the silver medal. There have been a handful of two-way ties through the years, but never a trifecta. Making the outcome all the more entertaining was the way the threesome handled the awards ceremony. As the announcer read their names to the crowd in English and Portuguese, they held hands and stepped onto the podium in synchronicity, raising their arms.

Because history and record-breaking achievements always call his name, Phelps was trying to become the first Olympian to win four consecutive gold medals in two different events. He first pulled it off the previous night, a rout of the field doing the trick in the 200 individual medley. The 100 fly figured to be a little tougher, and that’s the scenario that played out.

“I’m sorry if I don’t seem like I’m full of emotions, but I don’t know what to believe, that I actually did it or I’m still preparing for my race. I’m between the two of them,” Schooling said. “I need to let this moment sink in, realize what I’ve done and then I’ll have a better understanding of what I accomplished. But right now all I can say is I’m really honored and privileged to have an opportunity to race in an Olympic final alongside huge names like Michael, Chad and Laszlo, guys that have redefined the sport.”

Phelps was relegated to Lane Two following a fifth-place showing in the semifinals, the result of a mere 32-minute window between the final of the 200 …

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