David Popovici

As David Popovici has accelerated past his older rivals in the pool this summer, it seemed inevitable that the skinny 17-year-old would threaten world records, the only surprise when he broke the 100m freestyle mark in Rome on Aug. 13 was that he got so quick so fast.

Romanian swimming's shooting star David Popovici said today at his return home from Tokyo that at the Olympics he only wanted to scare a bit his US opponents and show them a "trailer" of his accomplishments in the years to come. "I just wanted to scare the Americans a little and show them a trailer of what we have in store for the next few years.

Romanian swimmer David Popovici (16 years of age) has qualified on Tuesday for the semifinals of the men's 100m freestyle event in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, with the eighth time of the heats, 48 seconds 03/100. Popovici was fourth in his heat, heat 9, and Italian Thomas Ceccon scored the best timing of the day, 47 sec 71/100.

AGERPRES special correspondent Teodor Ciobanu reports: Fourth place in the 200 m freestyle event, at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, is an excellent result for a 16 year old swimmer, David Popovici, who has all the qualities of becoming a superstar at the pool, but yet there remains a shadow of regret that he did not profit from the opportunity and didn't take a bronze medal for only 2/100.

AGERPRES special correspondent Teodor Ciobanu reports: Swimmer David Popovici, who won three gold medals and one silver medal at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Rome, a few weeks ago, managed a formidable performance in the seniors' events as well, at this Olympic Games debut in Tokyo, qualifying with the seventh fastest time in the 200m freestyle final.

AGERPRES special correspondent Teodor Ciobanu reports: The Romanian swimmers David Popovici and Robert Glinta have qualified on Monday for the finals in the 200m freestyle and 100m backstroke, respectively at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020.

Romanian swimmers David Popovici and Robert Glinta on Sunday qualified for the semifinals of the Men's 200m Freestyle and Men's 50m Backstroke events in the Tokyo Olympic Games. David Popovici (16 years of age) qualified for the Men's 200m Freestyle with the fourth time, 1:45.32, after he won Heat 2. He will compete on July 26 for the qualification for the final (July 27).

The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR) presented on Sunday evening Team Romania for the Tokyo Olympic Games (July 23 - August 8) which includes 100 athletes - 45 women and 55 in men - who will be competing in 17 sports.

Romanian athlete David Popovici has conquered, on Sunday evening, the gold medal in the 50 meter free event, in the European Junior Swimming Championships in Rome, Italy, timed at 22/100 seconds. Popovici, a qualified athlete in the Tokyo Olympic Games, was followed in the final ranking by Russian Nikita Chernousov, 22 sec 83/100 and Israeli Martin Kartavi, 22 sec 92/100.

PM Florin Citu on Sunday congratulated David Popovici on his performance at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Rome. "Congratulations, David Popovici, for the outstanding performance at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Rome! You are a champion," the PM wrote on his Facebook page.