David Popovici Leaps To Top Of 100 Free Rankings In 47.61 At Romanian Championships
David Popovici went top of the 100 free rankings with a time of 47.61 at the Romanian National Swimming Championships in Otopeni.
The 18-year-old had already won the 50 free, 100 back, 50 fly, and 400 free before tackling one of his specialist events in which he set a world record of 46.86 at last year’s European Championships.
It sees him replace Matt Richards at the head of the rankings with the Olympic 4×2 relay champion having hit 47.72 at the British Championships in Sheffield.
It also sees him book an Olympic ‘A’ time as he heads to his second Games following his debut in Tokyo as a 16-year-old where he finished fourth in the 200 and seventh in the 100.
Following the race, Popovici said:
“I proposed to do the standard today, but I said there is no rush.
“That’s nice, when you don’t want something at all costs, and you succeed. Any competition we go to, my coach and I aim to be ignorant of limits. I’m glad I got the ticket for the Olympic Games.”