Athlete of the Week – Cătălin Preda

At the European Aquatics Championships currently taking place in Paris, Romanian athletes have already achieved a major success

Florin Orban, 11.08.2026, 13:50

Cătălin Preda has won the gold medal in the men’s high diving event. Beyond the victory itself, both experts and the public have taken note of the spectacular manner in which the Romanian secured the title, prompting Radio Romania International to name him Athlete of the Week.
Cătălin Preda entered the competition on Friday. After his first two dives, he was in fourth place, while his teammate, Constantin Popovici, was third. On Saturday, in the third round, Preda delivered an outstanding dive that moved him up to third place in the overall standings. In the fourth round, he performed a dive of a very high degree of difficulty, executing it flawlessly. The Romanian moved straight into first place, while the podium was completed by Italy’s Andrea Barnaba and Gary Hunt, representing France. Former world and European champion Constantin Popovici finished seventh.

Cătălin Preda is from Bucharest, where he was born on 29 June 1991. Before making his name internationally on the high-diving platforms, Cătălin dominated domestic competitions in conventional diving, from the springboard and the 10-metre platform. He became national senior champion six times and junior champion five times, and won Balkan titles in 2005 and 2006.

After finishing secondary school, the athlete was awarded a scholarship to study in the United Kingdom at Coventry University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media. He subsequently stepped away from elite sport for a period before returning directly to the high-diving circuit, where he went on to establish himself at the highest level.

The 2022 European Championships in Rome were the first edition in which high diving was included in the programme. Preda won the silver medal, finishing behind Constantin Popovici. A year later, he claimed world silver in Fukuoka, where once again he was beaten only by Popovici. The rivalry between the two Romanians has been a constant feature over the years. This year, however, in Paris, it was Cătălin Preda who came out on top. (EE)