MANILA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic Games swimming defending champion Joseph Schooling attained a gold in the men's 4X100m medley relay competition with his teammates, collecting to four in 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games aquatic swimming tournament here on Monday.
In the closing day of the tournament at New Clark City's Aquatics Center, the quartet of Joseph Schooling, Darren Chua, Quah Zheng Wen, and Lionel Khoo ended the event in style with a 3:38.63 finish, almost five seconds ahead of second-place Indonesia.
Schooling has won one individual gold in the 100m butterfly at the Games, clocking a time of 51.84. He is the current Olympic record holder with a time of 50.39.
He also snatched two gold medals with his teammates in men's 4X100M freestyle relay and 4X200M freestyle relay during the tournament.
However, the 24-year-old swimmer tasted defeats in the men's 50m butterfly and 100m freestyle events, attaining two silvers after losing to teammates Teong Tzen Wei and Darren Chua separately.
Schooling, joining hands with Chua and other compatriots, helped Singapore become the big winner in the SEA Games swimming tournament with 23 golds, nine silvers, and four bronzes.
This is on a par with the 2015 SEA Games where Singapore finished with 23 golds on home soil.
Following is the Vietnamese team that grabbed 10 golds, six silvers and eight bronzes in the category. While the hosts ended up with one gold, six silvers and nine bronzes.
Moreover, the Philippines has awarded the right to host the 11th Asian Swimming Championships (ASC) in 2020.
In a press conference held on Sunday, the Philippine Swimming, Inc. president Maria Velasco announced that the Philippines had been awarded the right and the tournament will be held at the Aquatics Center in New Clark City, Tarlac province.
"We see this as an opportunity to not only maximize the use of the world-class facilities here at the New Clark City, but also to strengthen the local community, promote tourism, and showcase our hospitality to our foreign delegates," said Velasco.
The Philippine Bases Conversion Development Authority chief Vince Dizon said this will be the first time the Philippines to host the quadrennial swimming event in which athletes from over 50 countries and regions compete.
"This is a very important milestone because it shows that when you have a world-class facility, people from all over the region, all over the world, take notice," said Dizon.
The last edition of the championships was held in Tokyo, Japan in 2016.
