​David Popovici qualified for the 200m freestyle final at the European Senior Swimming Championships in Rome on Sunday after clocking the fastest time in the semi-finals.

David Popovici, fastest in 200m freestyle semifinal at CE Swimming

Easily qualified in the morning semifinals (1:46.87 – second time), David Popovich qualified with the first time in the grand final – 1:44.91.

Our athlete is the only one who managed to overcome 1:45:00: Swiss Antonio Djakovic finished second with a result of 1:45.32, and Italian Marco De Tullio stopped the clock at 1:45.70.

Surprisingly, Kristof Milak (Hungary) had the fastest time in the heats, but failed to qualify for the final action.

David Popovici holds the junior world record in the 200 m freestyle: 1:43.21, a time recorded in the final of the World Championships in Budapest.

The final is scheduled for Monday, August 15, 2022, from 19:06 Romanian time.

Also on Sunday, Andrey Mircha Angel failed to qualify for the 50-meter backstroke final, showing the 12th time in the semifinals (25.14).

David Popovichi, world record in 100 meters freestyle – He won European gold in Rome

David Popovici won the gold medal in the 100m freestyle at the European Senior Swimming Championships in Rome. In this race, the Romanian also set a new world record (46.86).

The Romanian swimmer was followed by Christoph Milak (47.47) and Alessandro Miressi (47.63).

Romania is represented at the European Championship (August 11-21) by a delegation of 11 athletes led by two-time world champion David Popovici. Romanian athletes compete in swimming, diving and high jumping.