These autographed swimming shorts belong to Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling and were worn by him during men’s 100m butterfly final at the Rio 2016 Olympics, where he won Singapore’s first ever Olympic gold medal. His winning time of 50.39 seconds set new national, Asian and Olympic records. At the same Olympics, Schooling also reached the semi-final of the 100m freestyle event. For his exceptional achievements, Schooling was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (Pingat Jasa Gemilang) at the National Day Awards 2016. He also became one of the first two Singaporean athletes, alongside paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, to have an orchid named after him for his accomplishments, the Dendrobium Joseph Schooling. Over the years, Schooling has won various other awards in international swimming competitions and been named Sportsman of the Year at the Singapore Sports Awards an unprecedented six times between 2012 and 2019.
