2021 European Short Course Championships 2021 European Championships (SC) In the Men's 100-metre freestyle, Popovici once again asserted himself as a medal contender, qualifying for the final (47.72) and ultimately placing seventh, with a time of 48.04. While he did not win a medal, he was only 0.02 seconds behind bronze medalist Fernando Scheffer, and ahead of Martin Malyutin (who won the gold medal at the European Championships), as he finished fourth in the Men's 200-metre freestyle, with a time of 1:44.68. 2020 Summer Olympics Īt the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Popovici competed in the 50-metre, 100-metre, and 200-metre freestyle individual events, following his good performances at the European Championships. He won his third gold medal in the 50-metre freestyle event, where he finished 0.61 seconds ahead of second place finisher Nikita Chernousov. His second gold medal of the European Junior Championships came in the 200-metre freestyle event, where he broke another junior world record in the semifinal, with a time of 1:45.26. This performance made Popovici the fastest man in the world at that time in 2021, surpassing Kliment Kolesnikov. Two days later, he managed to break the same junior world record again, this time in the 100-metre freestyle event, to win the gold medal, with a time of 47.30. In the 4x100-metre freestyle relay, he broke the junior world record for the first time, with a time of 47.56, helping the relay win the silver medal. Popovici won a total of four medals, at the 2021 European Junior Swimming Championships in Rome, where he broke the 100-metre freestyle junior world record twice, and the 200-metre freestyle junior world record once. 2021 European Junior Championships 2021 European Junior Championships Popovici also competed in the Men's 50-metre freestyle and the Men's 200-metre freestyle, meeting the Olympic Selection Time in both of the events. He broke the Romanian national record three times during the event (in the heats, semifinal and final), finishing sixth place in the final. Swimming career 2021: Olympic debut 2020 European Championships Īt the 2020 European Aquatics Championships in Budapest, which took place from 10 to due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Popovici managed to swim below the Olympic Qualifying Time in the Men's 100-metre freestyle event and by doing so, he qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, being the youngest member of the Romanian team. At 14 he became the fastest swimmer under 15 in the history of the European Youth Olympic Festival, swimming 100 meters in 49.82 seconds. At the age of 10, Popovici broke his first junior national record, in 50 m backstroke – a 24 year-old record held by Dragoș Coman, a 2003 world bronze medalist. At the age of 9 he began to train at Aqua Team Bucharest, under coach Adrian Rădulescu, a former swimmer with a PhD in athletic performance specialized in swimming. Popovici was born in Bucharest, and he started swimming at Lia Manoliu pool at the age of 4, at a doctor’s recommendation to correct early stage scoliosis.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |