Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Singapore's only Olympic gold medalist, swimmer Joseph Schooli ng, will not be given more time off fr...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Singapore's only Olympic gold medalist, swimmer Joseph Schooling, will not be given more time off from national service to compete because he admitted to using marijuana, the tightly controlled city-state said on Wednesday.
Schooling, who is 27, beat American Michael Phelps to win the 100-meter butterfly at the 2016 Olympics. He did not test positive for the drug, but the defence ministry said he admitted to using it earlier this year while he was travelling abroad.
Singapore has some of the strictest drug laws in the world, including the death penalty for drug traffickers. It also hasn't changed its mind about cannabis, even though many other countries, like Thailand, are moving to make it less illegal.
In a statement, the defence ministry said, "Schooling will no longer be eligible for leave or disruption to train or compete while in national service." They also said that he will be put on a six-month urine test programme that will be supervised.
Schooling's father died last year, and late Tuesday night, he posted on social media that he "gave in to a moment of weakness after going through a very tough time."
He didn't give any specifics, and when Reuters asked for a comment, he didn't answer right away.
Local media said that people who are in school next year are likely to miss the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Singapore's mandatory national service for men, which is usually done right after high school, has been put off in the past so that people could compete.
The defence ministry said he used cannabis while he was on short-term leave from national service in May 2022 so he could train and take part in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
Last year, Schooling didn't make it out of the first round of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. A few months later, his father died of liver cancer.
