David Popovici

David Popovici became the first male swimmer in 49 years to clinch gold in both the 100m and 200m freestyle events at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. This remarkable performance also established him as the second-youngest swimmer to secure the men’s 200m freestyle world title. Earlier, Popovici made his Olympic debut qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021 and began setting junior records, breaking the world junior record in the 100m freestyle twice at the European Junior Championships that year. He further secured a gold medal in the 200m freestyle at the 2021 European Short Course Championships.

Later in 2022, at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome, Popovici shattered Cesar Cielo’s 13-year-old world record in the 100m freestyle final with an astonishing time of 46.86 seconds, and additionally set a new world junior record in the 200m freestyle at the same event, clocking 1:42.97. Popovici’s exceptional 2022 continued with a flurry of additional accolades and medals. He earned multiple gold and silver medals across various distances at the 2022 European Junior Championships and secured three gold medals at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Lima. Concluding a landmark year, he clinched a silver medal in the 200m freestyle at the 2022 World Short Course Championships in Melbourne.

A celebrated Olympic, World, and European champion, David Popovici continues to define excellence in competitive swimming.