SINGAPORE – At last year’s FINA World Championships in Kazan, Joseph Schooling made his rivals sit up and take notice of his budding talents with a first-ever medal - a bronze in the men’s 100m butterfly - for the Republic at the world meet.

And the 20-year-old is keen to prove that the result in Russia was no fluke, as he heads into this week’s 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships in Georgia ready to help his team - the University of Texas - defend their overall championship title.

The meet will also be his last major competition before he takes on the biggest assignment of his young career in five months’ time: winning a first-ever swimming medal for Singapore at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“This is a great chance for me to show that I’ve improved and am ready to compete at the Olympic Games and win a medal,” said Schooling, who was named the NCAA meet’s top freshman swimmer last year.

“Last year at the World Championships when I won a bronze medal (in the 100m fly) already showed that I can hold my own against some of the best in the world. So the NCAA will be the perfect meet to showcase how much I’ve improved since then.

“It will also give me an opportunity to get into the racing mentality, execute my race plans and gauge the level that I’m currently at.”

Schooling’s star has certainly risen since his impressive debut at the 2015 NCAA championships, where he won both the 100 and 200 yard (91m and 182m respectively) fly events, as well as the 400 yard (365m) medley relay. While the collegiate championships may be a short-course meet – the Olympic Games follows a long-course format – Schooling insists he will not be taking the competition any less seriously, and he is aiming to win seven medals at the event.

While he is pencilled in for a few smaller meets - including the Arena Pro Swim Series in Arizona next month – the NCAA championships will likely be the last major competition that Schooling will compete in before the Olympic Games.

Team Singapore’s contingent in Rio is set to feature over 10 swimmers, including up-and-coming talent Quah Zheng Wen and Quah Ting Wen, but the country’s medal hopes will lie on Schooling’s broad shoulders.

Despite the immense pressure heaped on him, the Asian Games gold medallist is confident of creating history against some of the best swimmers in the world in August. “I’ve been moderating expectations since end of 2011, but I’ve reached the point where my own personal expectations are higher than what other people expect me to do,” said Schooling.

“Yes, I’ll be up against a lot of fantastic swimmers at the Olympics like Michael (Phelps) and Chad (Le Clos). But sometimes if I don’t have someone I want to beat really badly, it’s hard for me to get up and race, so going up against these swimmers gives me more motivation and makes me want to do better.

“The pressure I put on myself is huge, so if I meet my own expectations, then I’ll meet everyone else’s. I’ve achieved the first step of believing in myself, now it’s time for me to race and prove myself on the world stage.”