SINGAPORE — National swimmer Joseph Schooling had many Singaporean fans rooting for him last week at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, and he rewarded their support with a bronze-medal swim of 50.96sec in the men’s 100m butterfly to win the nation’s first medal at the meet.

And days after his victory in Russia, the 20-year-old continues to set the local fraternity abuzz with news of his achievements. Schooling’s time of 50.96sec has been clocked as the world’s fifth-fastest time swum in the event in a textile suit.

Former world-record holder, American Ian Crocker’s 50.40sec set in 2005 remains the fastest textile-suit swim in the event, with 18-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps (50.45sec) and South African sensation Chad le Clos (50.56sec) placed second and third, after their performances at this year’s United States National Championships and World Championships, respectively. Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh, a gold medallist in the 200m fly in Russia, is just ahead of Schooling, with 50.87sec. Phelps owns the world record in the distance, but his time of 49.82sec was swum in a non-textile, performance-enhancing suit, which was introduced in 2008 and subsequently banned by FINA two years later.

Singapore Swimming Association secretary-general Oon Jin Teik posted the news on Facebook yesterday, congratulating Schooling and his family on his achievement.

“The tiny red dot has produced a pure-bred Singaporean talent who is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Michael Phelps and Chad le Clos,” he told TODAY. “Singapore is already looking at a current world-class swimmer. Each swim is a milestone achievement on his journey to be the ‘best in class’.”

Though happy to hear the news, Schooling said he is keeping his focus on the big prize next year: Winning a medal at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“It feels great, but I don’t really think of it,” he said. “I’m No 5 on the list, and my goal is to make it to No 1.

“I’d say this could be my breakout onto the world stage, but I believe 2014 was a bigger stepping stone than this year, because of the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.

“So I’m not really thinking about that. Right now, I’m in a good spot and I got to keep the ball rolling.” ADELENE WONG