Colin Schooling, father of 26-year-old Olympian Joseph Schooling, has been diagnosed with cancer.

The senior Schooling, who turns 73 in 2021, made public his diagnosis and treatment in a series of photos and posts put up on Instagram via the joint Schooling family Instagram account, @cmjschooling.

The news of his cancer diagnosis and treatment are not new, as followers of the Schoolings were informed via social media what was happening as early as mid-June 2021.

3 posts on diagnosis and treatment in June 2021

First post

The first post on June 15 featured photos of well-wishes and flowers for Colin.

The caption did not make any mention of what ailed Schooling père.

Second post

The second post on June 20, which was a Father's Day post, made it more obvious that Colin was at the NCC -- which in Singapore is the acronym for the National Cancer Centre.

The caption also let on that the diagnosis had ascertained the source of the cancer to be in Colin's liver.

The post read:

Happy Father's Day to #1 husband and dad ❤ it has been quite a roller coaster ride for the past 4 months. Over the weekend, we have finally reached the last loop of this crazy uncertain ride - which is identifying the bad guy in Colin's body. Sneaky little bugger, hiding in the liver 😅

Third post

The third post on June 23 showed Colin receiving treatment at the National Cancer Centre and he appeared to be in high spirits.

The post read:

First day of treatment, many more to go. So impressed with the professionalism and care from NCC.

We've been learning a lot these past few days. The drugs used have such long and foreign sounding names, sometimes we wonder are we reading English or not. Sooner or later, we will learn how to properly pronounce it! 😂

All is going well, grateful for everyone in our lives.

Cancer diagnosis no bearing on Olympic performance

In a Straits Times interview with Joseph on July 30, the topic was broached and the Olympian made it clear that his father's cancer had no bearing on him in the pool in the Tokyo Olympics.

The interview was carried out following Joseph's eighth placing at the 100m butterfly heats on July 29, and having spoken with his parents.

Joseph told ST with regards to his father: “He’s doing well, thanks for asking. He’s gone through some immunotherapy. He’s gone through like two sessions of it. So the pain in his legs are gone. As long as he’s not in pain and he’s getting better, then I’m happy. But definitely learning that your dad has cancer is tough."

ST also reported that Schooling clarified that his dad’s illness had no bearing on his performance, but it is a taxing experience.

“It’s almost,” he said, “like a movie right, it’s so surreal.”

Coming to Joseph's defence

Publicly, One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong also wrote about Colin's cancer on Facebook and coming to the defence of Joseph for his Olympic showing.

Chatri wrote:

I would like to take a moment to address the online hate against my brother, Joseph Isaac Schooling. I refuse to sit here in silence, especially given that his parents, May Yim Schooling and Colin Schooling, always take the high road.

First, let me begin by saying that Joseph is a wonderful human being. His parents are also incredible people with hearts of gold. I am proud to call them good friends and I will always stand by their side. I can tell you that the Schoolings have been going through one of the most difficult and emotional times. His father was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Joseph has not only had the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he has also been going through tough times in his personal life. He is never one to make excuses though.

Joseph coming back in Singapore

Joseph will return to Singapore from Tokyo on Saturday, July 31.

He will have to serve his stay-home notice when he returns.

Colin Schooling's interview for Father's Day

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Top photo via @cmjschooling