David Popovici

David Popovici (; born 15 September 2004) is a Romanian competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle events. He is the current holder of the world record in the long course 100-metre freestyle and the junior world record in the long course 200-metre freestyle.David Popovici
'' SwimSwam''. Retrieved 5 October 2022. He also holds the junior world record in the short course 100-metre freestyle.FINA (15 December 2022)
"16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Men's 100m Freestyle Final Results"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 15 December 2022. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, Popovici won gold medals in his two signature events ( Men's 100-metre freestyle and Men's 200-metre freestyle), becoming the first swimmer to do so at the same edition of the World Championships, since Jim Montgomery in 1973.Fleșeru, Roxana (22 June 2022)
"BREAKING NEWS DUBLĂ ISTORICĂ! Incredibilul David Popovici câștigă al doilea AUR mondial, după un finiș de senzație! Primul înotător campion la 100m și 200m după 49 de ani"
(in Romanian). '' Gazeta Sporturilor''. Retrieved 22 June 2022. Following his performances during the 2022 long course season, in which he won eleven gold medals and two silver medals, Popovici was voted Male Swimmer of the Year by both SwimSwam and Swimming World Magazine.Serowik, Lauren (1 December 2022)
"Swimming World December 2022 – World Swimmers of the Year: David Popovici and Ariarne Titmus – Available Now!"
''Swimming World''. Retrieved 18 December 2022.Li, Yanyan (December 31, 2022)
"2022 SWAMMY AWARDS: MALE SWIMMER OF THE YEAR, DAVID POPOVICI"
'' SwimSwam''. Retrieved January 1, 2023. During that summer, he established an unprecedented level of dominance, especially in the long course 100-metre freestyle, recording 13 of the 19-fastest swims in the world in 2022, while also becoming only the third swimmer in history to set an under 1:43 time in the long course 200-metre freestyle.Sutherland, James (February 4, 2023)
"SWIMSWAM’S TOP 100 FOR 2023: MEN’S #10-1"
'' SwimSwam''. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

Early life

Popovici was born in Bucharest, and he started swimming at Lia Manoliu pool at the age of 4, at a doctor's recommendation to correct early stage scoliosis."David Popovici wants to be the world's best swimmer and has every chance"
''dor.ro''. Retrieved 16 June 2022. At the age of 9 he began to train at Aqua Team Bucharest, under coach Adrian Rădulescu, a former swimmer with a PhD in athletic performance specialized in swimming. At the age of 10, Popovici broke his first junior national record, in 50 m backstroke – a 24 year-old record held by Dragoș Coman, a 2003 world bronze medalist. At 14 he became the fastest swimmer under 15 in the history of the European Youth Olympic Festival, swimming 100 meters in 49.82 seconds.

Swimming career

2021: Olympic debut

2020 European Championships

At the 2020 European Aquatics Championships in Budapest, which took place from 10 to 23 May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Popovici managed to swim below the Olympic Qualifying Time in the Men's 100-metre freestyle event and by doing so, he qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, being the youngest member of the Romanian team. He broke the Romanian national record three times during the event (in the heats, semifinal and final), finishing sixth place in the final. Popovici also competed in the Men's 50-metre freestyle and the Men's 200-metre freestyle, meeting the Olympic Selection Time in both of the events.

2021 European Junior Championships

Popovici won a total of four medals, at the 2021 European Junior Swimming Championships in Rome, where he broke the 100-metre freestyle junior world record twice, and the 200-metre freestyle junior world record once. In the 4x100-metre freestyle relay, he broke the junior world record for the first time, with a time of 47.56, LEN (6 July 2021)
"2021 European Junior Swimming Championships Rome (ITA): Results 4x100m Freestyle Men Final"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 6 July 2021. Byrnes, Liz (6 July 2021)
"David Popovici Sets WJR 47.56 In 100 Free To Go Fourth In Rankings At European Juniors"
''Swimming World''. Retrieved 6 July 2021. helping the relay win the silver medal. Two days later, he managed to break the same junior world record again, this time in the 100-metre freestyle event, to win the gold medal, with a time of 47.30. LEN (8 July 2021)
"2021 European Junior Swimming Championships Rome (ITA): Results 100m Freestyle Men Final"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 8 July 2021. This performance made Popovici the fastest man in the world at that time in 2021, surpassing Kliment Kolesnikov. Rieder, David (8 July 2021)
"David Popovici Rockets to 47.30 100 Free, Breaks Own World Junior Record, Fastest Time in the World"
''Swimming World''. Retrieved 8 July 2021. His second gold medal of the European Junior Championships came in the 200-metre freestyle event, where he broke another junior world record in the semifinal, with a time of 1:45.26. LEN (9 July 2021)
"2021 European Junior Swimming Championships Rome (ITA): Results 200m Freestyle Men Semifinal"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 9 July 2021. He won his third gold medal in the 50-metre freestyle event, where he finished 0.61 seconds ahead of second place finisher Nikita Chernousov.

2020 Summer Olympics

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Popovici competed in the 50-metre, 100-metre, and 200-metre freestyle individual events, following his good performances at the European Championships. While he did not win a medal, he was only 0.02 seconds behind bronze medalist Fernando Scheffer, and ahead of Martin Malyutin (who won the gold medal at the European Championships), as he finished fourth in the Men's 200-metre freestyle, with a time of 1:44.68. In the Men's 100-metre freestyle, Popovici once again asserted himself as a medal contender, qualifying for the final (47.72) and ultimately placing seventh, with a time of 48.04.

2021 European Short Course Championships

To follow-up a pair of national records accomplished while racing at the FINA World Cup meet in Kazan, clocking respective performances of 46.77 in the 100-metre freestyle, and 1:43.58 in the 200-metre freestyle, Popovici entered to compete at the 2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships held at the Kazan Aquatics Palace in Russia. On 6 November, Popovici won the gold medal in the Men's 200-metre freestyle event, with a time of 1:42.12, breaking his own national record from the World Cup. LEN (6 November 2021)
"2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships Kazan (RUS): Results 200m Freestyle Men Final"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 6 November 2021. He failed to qualify for the finals in the Men's 100-metre freestyle, and Men's 400-metre freestyle individual events.

2021 World Short Course Championships

In his first of two events at the 2021 World Short Course Championships, the 400-metre freestyle on 16 December, Popovici placed thirty-second with a time of 3:46.08 and did not qualify for the evening final.FINA (16 December 2021)
"15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 400m Freestyle Heats Results Summary"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 24 October 2022. For his second event, the 200-metre freestyle the following day, he ranked fourteenth in the preliminary heats with a 1:43.62, not qualifying for the final of the event.FINA (17 December 2021)
"15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 200m Freestyle Heats Results Summary"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

2022: Double world champion and world record holder at seventeen

2022 World Championships

At the 2022 World Championships, Popovici won gold medals in the Men's 100-metre freestyle and the Men's 200-metre freestyle, becoming the first swimmer in 49 years to win gold in both sprint events, at the same edition of the world championships. Popovici dominated throughout the heats, semifinals and final of the 200-metre freestyle event, firstly clocking a personal best 1:44.40 in the semifinal, to take the top seed and break a world junior record.FINA (19 June 2022)
"2022 World Aquatics Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 200m Freestyle Semifinal Results"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 19 June 2022. In the final, on 20 June, he finished 1.26 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Hwang Sun-woo, touching the wall at 1:43.21 to become the fourth fastest performer of all-time (second fastest performer of all-time in a textile swimsuit) and win the gold medal.FINA (20 June 2022)
"2022 World Aquatics Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 200m Freestyle Final Results"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 20 June 2022. This performance made Popovici the second-youngest swimmer to win the Men's 200-metre freestyle event at the world championships (following Tim Shaw), at only 17 years and 278 days old.Ross, Andy (20 June 2022)
"Thomas Ceccon Smashes World Record; David Popovici Swims Fastest 200 Free in 10 Years | Swimming #FINABudapest2022"
''FINA''. Retrieved 20 June 2022. On Day 4, in the semifinal of the 100-metre freestyle, Popovici broke his third world junior record in as many days by clocking a 47.13, heading into the final as the top seed by nearly half a second.FINA (21 June 2022)
"2022 World Aquatics Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 100m Freestyle Semifinal Results"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 21 June 2022. On the next day, in the final, he managed to win his second gold medal, touching at 47.58 for a come-from-behind victory, just .06 ahead of France's Maxime Grousset.

2022 European Junior Championships

At the 2022 European Junior Championships in Otopeni, Popovici competed in five individual and relay events, winning either gold or silver in all five of them, and helping his compatriots to what was going to be Romania's most successful European Junior Championships. Matching his individual performances in Rome from last year, he won the gold medal in the Men's 50-metre, LEN (8 July 2022)
"2022 European Junior Swimming Championships Otopeni (ROM): Results 50m Freestyle Men Final"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 8 July 2022. 100-metre, and 200-metre freestyle events, most notably winning the 200-metre freestyle final with a time of 1:45.45, which was 2.26 seconds ahead of silver medalist Lorenzo Galossi. On 5 July, Popovici led off the Romanian Men’s 4×100 freestyle relay in 47.54, as the quartet composed of himself, Vlad Stancu, Ștefan Cozma and Patrick Dinu won gold in front of a home crowd, with a time of 3:18.93. One day later, on 6 July, Popovici was part of the Romanian relay that won the silver medal in the Mixed 4x100-metre freestyle, along with Patrick Dinu, Bianca Costea, and Rebecca Diaconescu.

2022 European Championships

Popovici kept his momentum rolling from the world championships into Rome, where he entered to compete at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships. His meet started with the 100-metre freestyle, where in the prelims he clocked a new championship record of 47.20. He followed that up with a 46.98 performance in the semifinals, setting a new world junior record and European record. LEN (12 August 2022)
"2022 European Aquatics Championships Rome (ITA): Results 100m Freestyle Men Semifinal"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 12 August 2022.Byrnes, Liz (12 August 2022)
FLASH! European Championships: David Popovici Sets European Record Of 46.98 In 100 Free
''Swimming World''. Retrieved 12 August 2022. Furthermore, his closing split in the semifinals (24.05), became the fastest in the history of the event at that time.Li, Yanyan (13 August 2022)
"DAVID POPOVICI GOES 46.86, BREAKS CIELO'S 13-YEAR OLD 100 FREE WORLD RECORD"
'' SwimSwam''. Retrieved 13 August 2022. On 13 August 2022, Popovici one-upped himself in the final, touching at 46.86 to not only win gold, but break César Cielo's 13-year-old world record in the event, by 0.05 seconds. LEN (13 August 2022)
"2022 European Aquatics Championships Rome (ITA): Results 100m Freestyle Men Final"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 13 August 2022. Fleșeru, Roxana (13 August 2022)

(in Romanian). '' Gazeta Sporturilor''. Retrieved 15 October 2022.Sharma, Hritika (13 August 2022)
"Romania's Popovici breaks world 100m freestyle record at European championships"
''Reuters''. Retrieved 31 August 2022.OlympicTalk (15 August 2022)
"David Popovici is youngest man to break swimming world record since Michael Phelps"
'' NBC Sports''. Retrieved 31 August 2022. The Romanian was not leading at the halfway mark of the race, opening in 22.74 and trailing Maxime Grousset with fifty meters left to go. However, he came home in a scintillating 24.12 final fifty, and ended up winning 0.61 seconds ahead of his closest competitor. Following his performances in the semifinals and the final, Popovici became the first swimmer to crack the 47-second mark two times. Byrnes, Liz (13 August 2022).
"FLASH! David Popovici Sets 100 Free World Record Of 46.86"
''Swimming World''. Retrieved 13 August 2022. On 14 August, he once again proved he was in top form in the 200-metre freestyle event, moving through the prelims and the semifinals easily, and dropping the hammer in the final the following day, clocking a new world junior record of 1:42.97, to win his second gold medal. LEN (15 August 2022)
"2022 European Aquatics Championships Rome (ITA): Results 200m Freestyle Men Final"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 15 August 2022. This performance made him the fastest textile performer in the history of the event and third fastest all-time behind Michael Phelps and world record holder Paul Biedermann.Sutherland, James (15 August 2022)
"WATCH: David Popovici Hits 1:42.97 200 Free, Fastest Textile Swim In History"
'' SwimSwam''. Retrieved 15 August 2022. On 17 August, Popovici swum in the heats of the Men's 400-metre freestyle event, clocking a personal best of 3:47.99, but later withdrew from the final. LEN (17 August 2022)
"2022 European Aquatics Championships Rome (ITA): Results 400m Freestyle Men Preliminary"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 17 August 2022. Following the conclusion of the competition, LEN, the official governing body of European Aquatics, announced that David Popovici was named the male swimmer of the meet, as his performances earned him the highest number of FINA points during the championships.

2022 World Junior Championships

Two weeks before his eighteenth birthday, Popovici competed at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Lima, in his final long course international competition as a junior athlete. On the first day, 30 August, Popovici helped the Romanian relay to a gold medal in the Men's 4x100-metre freestyle event, finishing 1.45 seconds ahead of the French relay that won the silver medal.FINA (30 August 2022)
"8th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships Lima (PER): Men's 4x100m Freestyle Final Results"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 30 August 2022. He twice lowered the FINA World Junior Championship Record in the 100-metre freestyle; first by leading off the relay in prelims, and then again in the final."Aur la Campionatul Mondial de înot! Și un nou record Popovici!"
(in Romanian). ''Cotidianul''. Retrieved 31 August 2022. The next day, he managed to do the same in the 200-metre freestyle, as he captured the gold medal, covering his four laps in a champion-record mark of 1:46.18.FINA (31 August 2022)
"8th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships Lima (PER): Men's 200m Freestyle Final Results"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 31 August 2022. Popovici ended up touching the wall almost three seconds before silver medalist Dániel Mészáros, who was timed in 1:48.98.Pérez, Marta (1 September 2022)
"Oro de Popovici en 200 libre en el Mundial júnior"
(in Spanish). '' Mundo Deportivo''. Retrieved 1 September 2022. On 1 September, the Romanian relay featuring Popovici on the leadoff leg, won the silver medal in the Mixed 4x100-metre freestyle event, with a time of 3:30.39, finishing 0.36 seconds behind the Hungarian relay. In his final event, Popovici swam in the 100-metre freestyle, winning his third gold medal, with a time of 47.13, 2.24 seconds ahead of silver medalist Jere Hribar.

2022 World Short Course Championships

On day two of the 2022 World Short Course Championships in Melbourne, Australia, Popovici set a new world junior record in the semifinals of the 100-metre freestyle with a time of 45.91 seconds, which was 0.20 seconds faster than the former mark of 46.11 by Kliment Kolesnikov.FINA (14 December 2022)
"16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Men's 100m Freestyle Semifinals Results Summary"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 15 December 2022.Byrnes, Liz (14 December 2022)
"World Championships, Day Two Semifinals: WJR For David Popovici; Crooks, McKeon, Martinenghi & King Lead Way"
''Swimming World''. Retrieved 19 December 2022. The following day, he placed thirty-first in the 400-metre freestyle with a time of 3:58.48.FINA (15 December 2022)
"16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Men's 400m Freestyle Heats Results Summary"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 15 December 2022. In the final of the 100 metre freestyle, he set another world junior record with a personal best time of 45.64 seconds and placed fourth.Byrnes, Liz (15 December 2022)
"World Championships, Day Three Finals: Kyle Chalmers Wins 100 Free In CR; WJR For Popovici"
''Swimming World''. Retrieved 19 December 2022. His performances in the 100-metre freestyle made him the first junior swimmer in history to go under 46 seconds in the event.Penland, Spencer (28 December 2022)
"2022 SWAMMY AWARDS: WORLD JUNIOR MALE SWIMMER OF THE YEAR – DAVID POPOVICI"
'' SwimSwam''. Retrieved 29 December 2022. The sixth and final day, he won the silver medal in the 200-metre freestyle with a new Romanian record time of 1:40.79.FINA (18 December 2022)
"16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Melbourne (AUS): Men's 200m Freestyle Final Results"
''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 18 December 2022.Lohn, John (18 December 2022)
"World Championships, Day Six Men’s Finals: Despite Broken Finger, Hwang Sunwoo Is Golden In 200 Freestyle; David Popovici Earns Silver"
''Swimming World''. Retrieved 19 December 2022.

Personal life

Popovici grew up idolizing Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe. He also stated that he is inspired by Floyd Mayweather, following Mayweather's training methods and the way he motivated himself. In December 2021, Popovici signed an endorsement deal with Arena.

In July 2022, Popovici was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania, the highest civil order in the nation, by the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis.

Personal bests

Long course metres (50 m pool)

Short course metres (25 m pool)

Records

World records

Long course metres (50 m pool)

Continental records

Long course metres (50 m pool)

World junior records

Long course metres (50 m pool)

Short course metres (25 m pool)

Awards

* ''Swimming World'', Swimmer of the Year (male): 2022
* ''Swimming World'', Newcomer of the Year: 2021
* '' SwimSwam'' Swammy Award Male Swimmer of the Year: 2022
* '' SwimSwam'' Swammy Award European Male Swimmer of the Year: 2022Kaufman, Sophie (December 24, 2022)
"2022 SWAMMY AWARDS: EUROPEAN MALE SWIMMER OF THE YEAR – DAVID POPOVICI"
'' SwimSwam''. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
* '' SwimSwam'' Swammy Award World Junior Male Swimmer of the Year: 2022
* '' SwimSwam'', Top 100 (Men's): 2022 (#20),Sutherland, James (20 January 2022)
"SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2022: Men's #20-11"
'' SwimSwam''. Retrieved 20 January 2022. 2023 (#3)
* '' LEN Award'', European Male Swimmer of the Year: 2022Ligue Européenne de Natation (17 January 2023)
"New winners in swimming: Popovici and Meilutyte voted the best in Europe"
'' LEN''. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
* '' Gazeta Sporturilor'', Romanian Athlete of the Year: 2022Fleșeru, Roxana (16 November 2022)
"David Popovici, Sportivul Român al Anului 2022 după un vot unanim: „După ce repeți de 10.000 de ori ceva, a 10.001-a oară, în concurs, nu are cum să nu îți iasă”"
(in Romanian). '' Gazeta Sporturilor''. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
* '' BTA'', Balkan Athlete of the Year: 2022Associated Press (28 December 2022)
"Romanian swimmer Popovici named Best Balkan Athlete of 2022"
''The Washington Post''. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
* Piotr Nurowski Award: 2021Fodor, Simona (26 November 2021)
"2021 Piotr Nurowski Prize: Romanian swimmer named best young European athlete in summer sports"
''Romania Insider''. Retrieved 26 November 2021.

References

External links

*

Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovici, David
2004 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Bucharest
Romanian male freestyle swimmers
Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic swimmers of Romania
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
21st-century Romanian people