Swimmer David Popovici
At the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, Romania ranked ninth in the medal standings
Florin Orban, 18.08.2026, 13:45
The European Aquatics Championships that ended in Paris on Sunday have brought Romania three gold medals.
Catalin Preda won the dive contest and David Popovici compelled international recognition in the 100 and 200 meter freestyle sprints. Due to these results, Radio Romania International has designated Popovici athlete of the week.
David obtained his first win in the 100 meter race in Paris. He won the finals in 46 seconds and 56 hundredths, a new record of the competition. He was followed by the Russian swimmer Egor Kornev, who ended the race 18 hundredths after him, while Kristof Milak of Hungary came third, 13 hundredths after the Russian runner-up. It was an extremely fast race which the first three swimmers ended in less than 47 seconds.
Upon his arrival home, David said:” I was honestly expecting an extremely tough competition, because I knew what the other swimmers were capable of. If we have a look at what I said before reaching Paris when I was making statements in airports and all, I said that I was expecting a more difficult competition than in a world championship or Olympic Games. And it was exactly like that. The 100 meter finals was the fastest in recorded history. So…congratulations to all those who have contributed to that.”
Popovici controlled the 200 meter freestyle race, and won in one minute, 44 seconds and 15 hundredths. He was followed by Lithuanian Tomas Navikonis, 40 hundredths after the Romanian and by James Guy of Britain, who ended the race 72 hundredths after the winner. The Romanian swimmer has thus become the first to win ‘a double’ in speed races in three consecutive editions of European Championships, after the wins in Rome, in 2022 and Belgrade in 2024.
Because of these results, Popovici, who hasn’t turned 22 yet, has already become Romania’s best swimmer so far. He was born in Bucharest on September 15th, 2004 and won his first major title in Kazan, Russia, in 2021, when he became European champion in the 200 meter sprint. In 2022, he compelled recognition at the World Championship in Budapest. The two medals he won in the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle races in Budapest were a first for Romania at that time. Then, at the European Championships in Rome, in August, he set a new world record by ending the 100 m race in 46 seconds and 86 hundredths. At the Olympics in Paris, he won the 200 meter sprint and became the bronze medalist in the 100 meter race. Last year in the 22nd edition of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore he won gold in the 100 and 200 m races.
(bill)
