Athletes of the Week on RRI – Swimmers Andrei Ungur and David Popovici

The two had solid performances at the European Short-Course Swimming Championships in Romania

Florin Orban, 12.12.2023, 13:45

Major competitions are slowly returning to Romania. Last week the city of Otopeni near Bucharest played host to the European Short-Course Swimming Championships. The competition unfolded in front of large crowds, evidence that swimming competitions remain very popular in Romania. Results obtained by Romanian swimmers were however somewhat subpar. Romania grabbed two medals – Andrei Ungur in the 100m backstroke final and David Popovici in the 100m freestyle event. The disappointment stems from the fact that Romania won fewer medals compared to the previous edition of 2021 hosted by Kazan, Russia, when Popovici won the 200m freestyle gold medal and Robert Glință won silver in the 100m backstroke and 50m backstroke races. The results grabbed in Otopeni are however remarkable, which is why we have designated Andrei Ungur and David Popovici Athletes of the Week on RRI.

Andrei Ungur was a welcome surprise at the European Swimming Championships in Otopeni. He was born October 17, 1998 in Baia Mare (north). He spent the last five years in the United States, training in a swimming center. He graduated University of Utah, specializing in Film. His dream is to produce documentaries for National Geographic.

Although much younger, David Popovici has a much more impressive record. He was born in Bucharest on September 15, 2004. Last year, at the European Swimming Championships in Rome, he finished the 100m freestyle race in 46.86 seconds, setting a new world record. Also in 2022, he won the World Championships in Budapest in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, a premiere for Romanian sports. At the short-course World Championships last year in Melbourne, Popovici won silver in the 200m freestyle event. He was ranked 4th in the 100m event, setting a new junior world record. (VP)