USA TODAY Sports
A relatively routine piece of NCAA rules-making last year provided a college athlete with an extraordinary reward Friday night.
Singapore’s Joseph Schooling, set to be a junior at the University of Texas, won the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the Rio Olympics, where his competition included superstars Michael Phelps, Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh and South Africa’s Chad Le Clos -- who all amazingly tied for second.
The achievement – Singapore’s first medal in Rio -- qualified him for an award of about $740,000 from the Singapore National Olympic Council that he will be able to keep without forfeiting his remaining college swimming eligibility.