David Popovici Cruises to Victory in 100 Freestyle At Romanian Short Course Champs
Teenage star David Popovici has returned to the water in style, as he raced at the Romanian Short Course Championships on Thursday. Competing in the 100-meter freestyle, the 18-year-old clocked a time of 46.62 to finish ahead of Andrei Ungur, who was timed in 48.42. Patrick Dinu was third in 48.62.
The race was Popovici’s first since he capped a spectacular summer season at the FINA World Junior Championships in September. During the summer, Popovici put together a stretch of competitions that included world titles in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle, and a world-record performance of 46.86 in the 100 freestyle at the European Championships.
A finalist in the 100 free and 200 free at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Popovici has vaulted to the top of the sport. In addition to claiming the world record in the 100 freestyle from Cesar Cielo, Popovici posted the third-fastest time in history in the 200 freestyle en route to gold in that event at the World Championships in Budapest. In the 200 free, Popovici was timed in 1:42.97, a mark bettered only by Paul Biedermann (1:42.00) and Michael Phelps (1:42.96). Biedermann’s standard was widely considered untouchable until Popovici went sub-1:43 over the summer.