SINGAPORE — Since winning the 100m fly at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games last Saturday, and beating the likes of Michael Phelps, Chad Le Clos and Laszlo Cseh in the process, national swimmer Joseph Schooling has found himself thrust into the international spotlight.

This has led to an increased scrutiny on his personal life — in particular, various foreign media outlets have speculated over the identity of the 21-year-old’s girlfriend, and several have identified his University of Texas schoolmate Casey Shomaker as his love interest.

Another University of Texas student, Sabryna Salazar, also posted on Twitter a screenshot of Joseph allegedly matching up with her on dating app Tinder.

my tinder match just won the 100M butterfly final and beat Michael Phelps

this is my greatest accomplishment pic.twitter.com/bhU96gmflO — sab (@sabwow) August 13, 2016

But Schooling’s mother, May, yesterday rubbished these reports, and attributed recent rumours about his love life to people riding on his newfound fame.

“He’s been linked with so many girls, but that doesn’t mean he’s got a girlfriend,” May explained.

“I’ve read articles about this girl or that girl claiming him as their own, and I think there was even an article about him being married. Now that’s he’s an Olympic champion, you suddenly see such reports coming out, but it doesn’t mean it’s true.

“In future, of course it’s fine he has a girlfriend but for now, let’s kill the subject.” NOAH TAN