On 12 August 2016, Rio de Janeiro time (13 August 2016, at around 9.15am Singapore time), 21-year old Singaporean Joseph Schooling secures a Gold Medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in a world record time of 50.39 seconds for the 100-metre butterfly, defeating world champions like Michael Phelps and Chad Guy le Clos. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. 2016. The Omega Speedmaster Apollo 13 Silver Snoopy Award shown is owned by a private collector.
There is only watch brand synonymous with the Olympic Games – Omega. The brand’s association with the Olympic Games began in 1932.
That year, for the very first time, one single private company was given the responsibility to be the timekeeper across all the events at the Olympic Games and it was Omega.
Omega supplied one timekeeper and 30 high-precision chronographs, all of which were certified by the Observatory at Neuchâtel. Omega’s timekeeping instruments allowed elapsed time to be recorded to the nearest 10th of a second.
There were many other firsts for the Olympic Games in 1932. The first Olympic Village and the first medal podiums were made for the Olympic Games.
For a small and young nation like Singapore, its most significant link with the Olympic Games began in 1960 when weightlifter Tan Howe Liang secured a Silver medal in Rome.
Fast forward 56 later at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a 21-year-old Singaporean gentleman by the name of Joseph Schooling stuns Singapore and perhaps the world by securing an Olympic Gold medal for his amazing win at the 100-metre butterfly and achieving a world record at the same time.
With his Olympic record time of 50.39 seconds for the 100-metre butterfly, Schooling defeated world champions like American Michael Phelps (coming in at 51.15 seconds) and South African Chad Guy le Clos (51.14 seconds).
American Michael Phelps (born 30 June 1985). Phelps became an Omega brand ambassador in 2004. Photo: © Omega
Hungarian Laszlo Cseh also came in at 51.14 seconds which meant that there were three Silver medallists in this event and only one Gold, the medal that belonged to Schooling.
It took less than a minute for Schooling to become a hero for Singapore but it is also right to note the years of training, sacrifice and toil it took for him to achieve success. Schooling rightfully deserves the honour of being called a hero and the SGD1 million award from the Singapore National Olympic Council’s Multi-Million Dollar Awards Programme.
We congratulate Schooling this grand victory. We also congratulate his parents for their support and dedication given to their only son. It was definitely a daunting task to come up against world champions and secure victory.
South African Chad Guy le Clos (born 12 April 1992) is an Omega brand ambassador. Photo: © Omega
Interestingly, Phelps and Chad le Clos are brand ambassadors for Omega. We therefore believe Schooling has what it takes to be a “friend” of the brand that has long been associated with the Olympics. Schooling is already targeting the 2020 Olympics that will be held in Tokyo, Japan.
As for a watch for Schooling, one key feature must surely be the GMT or two-time zone. After all, he won his Olympic Gold medal on 12 August 2016, Rio de Janeiro time, and on 13 August, Singapore time.
We truly wish Schooling all the best and even greater success for the future!
Related articles featuring Omega and / or the Olympics include:
i. Omega Seamaster Bullhead “Rio 2016”: Bull Run since 1969
ii. Omega Speedmaster Apollo 13 Silver Snoopy Award: The Beagle has landed