Adam Peaty, An Inspiration To Young Freestyle King, Pays Tribute to David Popovici
In the aftermath of the first world record of his career, David Popovici revealed he was already envisioning greater achievements in the water. Specifically, he expressed a desire to take the 100-meter freestyle to a place that is difficult to fathom, similar to what Great Britain’s Adam Peaty has done with the 100 breaststroke.
Peaty, the two-time Olympic champion in his prime event, has been defined by a constantly evolving vision that provided targets to chase. After becoming the first man to crack the 58-second barrier in the 100 breaststroke, Peaty and coach Mel Marshall embarked on “Project 56,” which was the chase for a sub-57 performance. Once that goal was met, Peaty changed the title to “Project Immortal,” which means putting the world record in the 100 breast into untouchable territory.
Popovici is obviously a student on the sport, and spoke of the inspiration gained from Peaty.
“Adam Peaty is a pioneer in terms of the goals he set,” Popovici said. “For others, it was science fiction, but not for him.”
Peaty turned to Twitter on Sunday morning to congratulate Popovici. More, he paid tribute to Popovici’s potential.
“A phenomenal new world record at 17 years old,” Peaty wrote. “David is very mature for his age and just shows to never put a limit on yourself no matter how young or old you are. Excited to see where he can take it!”
