This morning, 21-year-old Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling stunned everyone, including legend Michael Phelps, when he beat the American swimmer in the 100 meters butterfly and set a new Olympic record of 50.38 seconds.
Schooling, who was inspired to become a top-level swimmer by a meeting with Phelps as a 13-year-old, gave Singapore its first gold.
We imagine that no one’s more thrilled about Schooling’s win than his Filipina nanny, Yolly Pascual, who took care of the champion since he was a year old.
“He’s a very loving, caring, sweet boy,” she says in this video ad made for telecommunications company Singtel released last year.
The Filipina nanny of this third-generation Singaporean (mom is Chinese Malaysian while dad is a Eurasian born and raised in Singapore) said she cried when Schooling left to train at the Bolles School in the USA.
“Aunty Yolly is like a second mom to me,” Schooling says. “As a kid, I wasn’t the easiest guy to handle. She was the one who always used to take care of me at home. She’s cooked for me, made me do my homework, everything… she’ll come down to watch me swim. She supports me unconditionally.”
Well done, Yolly!
In a Straits Times report on Sun, Aug 14, Yolly was quoted as saying: “I’ve always believed in him. I was watching and shouting for him. I cannot express how happy I am… I was jumping and crying after he won.”
With an AFP report.
