SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Sport Singapore (SportSG) will remove support for national swimmers Amanda Lim and Joseph Schooling for one month from Oct 1 following their admission that they had consumed cannabis.
The duo, who on Aug 30 were revealed to have admitted to the illegal drug use, were also issued with letters of warning by the national sports agency.
SportSG also revealed on Wednesday that a third national swimmer, Teong Tzen Wei (pic), was also punished "for having acted in breach of their athlete agreements".
It said the trio had been investigated by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for drug-related offences but all their urine tests for controlled drugs came up negative. However, all three had admitted to consuming controlled drugs while as Team Singapore - carded national athletes - overseas.
SportSG said it met Schooling, 27, Lim, 29, and Teong, 24, as part of its internal review, which concluded last week.
"SportSG has found that the three athletes had fallen short of the code of conduct expected of all TeamSG athletes as part of their athlete agreement," it said in a statement.
"SportSG takes the breaches of the code of conduct seriously. Team Singapore athletes are expected to hold the highest standards of conduct as they represent Singapore on the world stage and are role models for Singaporeans."
It added that it has decided to suspend all support to the trio as carded athletes under the High Performance Scheme, for a period of one month, beginning from Oct 1.
This means they will not receive training assistance grants and access to sports science and sports medicine facilities and services in this period.
Teong, who is also a spexScholar, will also have his scholarship benefits withdrawn for one month.
The spexScholarship scheme offers support for athletes who are deemed to have the potential to excel on the Asian and world stage. Aside from monthly stipends, scholars also get support in the areas of education, sports science and nutrition, among others.
"The actions taken against the athletes underscore their responsibility and accountability as national athletes. In deciding on this course of action, SportSG took into account a range of factors including the findings by CNB," it said.
It added that all three had cooperated fully in the review process, and readily admitted to the consumption. They expressed remorse for their actions and appealed to be given a second chance to prove themselves "and fulfil their roles and responsibilities as national athletes".
They also pledged not to abuse controlled drugs in the future, and vowed to "play a part in education and other efforts to prevent others from making the same mistake", SportSG added.
Lim had been caught with a weed grinder upon her return to Singapore from the July 28-Aug 8 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and was subsequently issued a stern warning by the CNB under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Schooling had confessed to using cannabis during the SEA Games in May. As he is undergoing national service, he has been placed on a six-month SAF-supervised urine test regime as part of the treatment and rehabilitation process.
He was also issued a formal letter of warning. The Ministry of Defence also revoked his leave and NS disruption privileges, making it near impossible for him to go overseas to train or compete while in NS.
Teong is widely regarded as one of Singapore swimming’s rising stars. The Singapore Sports School alumnus, who had halted his studies at the Singapore Management University to focus on swimming, has had a stellar 2022.
In May, he became the first man in South-East Asia to swim the 50m freestyle in under 22 seconds, clocking 21.93 seconds in Hanoi to claim the SEA Games gold.
He also claimed the 50m butterfly gold at the same meet. In June, he became the only Singaporean swimmer to make a final at the World Championships, finishing eighth in the 50m fly.
His red-hot form continued in July, when he picked up his first Commonwealth Games medal by finishing second in the 50m fly final.
He was rewarded with $35,000 at the Sept 14 MAP Awards Presentation ceremony for his medal-winning efforts.
The MAP is a private award scheme managed and administered by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and backed by the Tote Board.
Ironically, Schooling ($13,750) and Lim’s ($3,750) rewards were held back that evening. When asked why the duo were left out, with many members of the public assuming that they were being punished for their drug confessions, the SNOC said that “a decision has not been finalised at the moment” and that it was “currently in the course of gathering the necessary findings to ensure a fair process for the athletes involved”.
Unlike Schooling and Lim, who were not present at the ceremony at Timbre+ Eastside @ Expo, Teong was present to collect his cheque but did not speak to media.
