SINGAPORE — For the world's best swimmers, timing is everything. Not just the time it takes them to get to the other end of the pool but also the time they choose to produce their best. Joseph Schooling's timing has been perfect during the 28th Southeast Asian Games, which are being held in his tiny homeland as part of the celebrations marking Singapore's 50th anniversary of independence. Like any host country, Singapore desperately wanted its own bona fide star to leave an indelible mark on the Games and Schooling has done that. On Wednesday, he won two more finals at the OCBC Aquatic Centre that he has turned into a river of gold. He won the 50 meters butterfly then the 200m individual medley, taking his tally for the week to eight golds from eight events. The 19-year-old still has one more race to go Thursday, the medley relay, where another gold medal looks like a formality barring a disqualification or major upset. Based in the United States, Schooling rarely makes it back to his homeland but his popularity continues to soar. On Wednesday, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong personally presented him with one of his gold medals. Schooling's performances have rubbed off on his teammates, who have been scooping up plenty of precious metal themselves. Quah Zheng Wen, who has entered a mind-boggling 12 events, picked up another two medals Wednesday to take his haul to 10, including five golds. The 18-year-old still has two races left. His sister Ting Wen won her fourth gold medal Wednesday, in the Singaporean 4x100m freestyle relay. Her teammate Tao Li also collected a fourth gold at these Games taking her career total to a staggering 28. With one day of swimming to go, Singapore has won 19 of the 31 gold medals. Vietnam is the next best with nine, thanks almost entirely to Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, the outstanding female swimmer at the Games. The 17-year-old won the 400m freestyle Wednesday, going under the qualifying time for Rio, to capture her seventh gold medal, and ninth overall. — Reuters
