Roman swimmer David Popovici made history at age 21 by securing his third European double crown in the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle events, according to reports from sports outlets. Competing at the European championships in Paris, Popovici clocked a 1:44.15 in the 200-meter final to seal another dominant performance, adding to a glittering career palmares that includes four world titles and an Olympic gold medal won in the French capital two years prior.
How Popovici Claimed the Paris Double
The 21-year-old racing sensation captured the 200-meter freestyle final by leading from start to finish, leaving his main competitors trailing behind. According to race accounts, German swimmer Lukas Martens struggled to find his best form and finished seventh, while Lithuania’s Tomas Navikonis charged through the second half of the race to take second ahead of Great Britain’s Duncan Guy. Popovici’s time of 1:44.15 cemented an untroubled victory that followed his earlier triumph in the 100-meter freestyle event.
A Historic Milestone Among European Swimming Greats
With this latest triumph, Popovici stands alone at the pinnacle of European swimming history. Prior to the Paris meet, the Romanian phenom shared the record for multiple European double titles with German great Peter Nocke and Dutch star Pieter van den Hoogenband. By securing his third 100m-200m freestyle double at the continental level—having started his streak at the short course Europeans in Kazan back in 2021 at age 17—Popovici surpassed those legendary benchmarks.
Training Camps and Looking Toward World Records
Despite his dominance, Popovici continues to chase new benchmarks, remaining just 16 hundredths of a second away from Pan Zhanle’s world record in the 100-meter freestyle. In July, Popovici surprised the swimming world by holding a joint training camp in Bucharest with one of his fiercest rivals. «Se nos ocurrió la idea de entrenar juntos. Un ejemplo de amistad y de que los mayores rivales pueden entrenar juntos», explicó Popovici regarding the camp. «Hay algunos aspectos técnicos que intento aprender de él. Por ejemplo, cómo impulsarme desde la pared, cómo girar. Nunca he tenido un compañero que me exigiera tanto», reconoció.
More European Champions Crowned in Paris
Popovici was not the only athlete to complete a major distance double in Paris. Italian distance queen Simona Quadarella claimed gold in both the 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle events. Meanwhile, in the men’s short-course backstroke, Czech swimmer Miroslav Knedla pulled off an upset against the Russian pairing of Kliment Kolesnikov and Evgeny Samusenko, snatching victory by a single hundredth of a second ahead of the world record holder. Spanish competitor Iván Martínez-Sota finished sixth in that backstroke final.
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