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World Championships: Joseph Schooling breaks Asian record, qualifies for 50m butterfly final

Joseph Schooling of Singapore during the Men’s 50m Butterfly Heats on day ten of the Budapest 2017 FINA World Championships on July 23, 2017 in Budapest, Hungary (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Joseph Schooling of Singapore during the Men’s 50m Butterfly Heats on day ten of the Budapest 2017 FINA World Championships on July 23, 2017 in Budapest, Hungary (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling qualified for the final of the 50m butterfly at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday (23 July).

Schooling clocked 22.93s, rewriting the Asian and national record of 23.05s he set during the heats. He was the fifth-fastest qualifier, and four other swimmers went under 23 seconds.

Caeleb Dressel of the United States finished the semi-final as the top seed, clocking 22.76s.

Speaking after the race, Schooling said, “I am really excited, the most important is to make the top eight, which I have managed to do.”

Dressel beat Schooling in March this year during the NCAA Championships in the 100-fly race, breaking Schooling’s record as well.

After his heat, Schooling said in a media statement, “I went out there and raced well, the first race is always the hardest, now I know what to expect, I know the feel of the crowd, the feel of the water, the feel of the competition…”

The 22-year-old is targeting two podium finishes at the World Championships, and also hopes to break American Michael Phelps’ world record in the 100m butterfly. He will be swimming in the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly events, as well as the 100m freestyle.

The 50m fly final will be raced on Monday evening Singapore time. The evening programme starts at 11:30pm.

Singaporeans who wish to watch the action live can watch the World Championships on StarHub ch 203.

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