David Popovici posted the fastest time in the 200m freestyle final at the World Swimming Championships and the 18-year-old swimmer revealed some of the details he noticed in Fukuoka, Japan.

• The 200-meter freestyle final is scheduled for Tuesday at 2:02 p.m. (Romanian time)..

David Popovici, Fukuoka’s cold water and late-race sprint: ‘I shouldn’t be stupid enough not to qualify’

In an interview with Gazeta Sporturilor, David analyzed his performances in the first two races in Fukuoka and stated that he would like to meet the legendary Michael Phelps.

Popovich talked about how cold the water is in the Japanese pool and compared the Japanese audience to the European one.

​“My only wish was for my pools to come out, the pattern I calculated. I wanted to qualify first. See, this time I also aimed to secure my qualifications somehow. I wanted to finish the half field first, so I knew I would go into the last act anyway.

I felt good, it was never easy, it’s not easy. From the very morning when I finished the exam, there was a relaxation pool, where I will go again soon. And I met a few competitors and they said it’s easy, easy, no, no, it’s really not easy.

The second half of the race was slower since the morning. Towards the end I sped up a bit so I wouldn’t be so stupid and qualify.

The water is good but very cold, I don’t know why the Japanese do that, but it helps. The Japanese audience is very different from the European one. As if our Europeans are more fanatical, they shout, move harder, shake. But it is clear that the Japanese love swimming and sports very much, and it shows.

I don’t think anyone has the right to want more than you, not even the coaches, not even the parents. And pressure, pressure, pressure. It’s always there, I can’t do anything about it. Instead, I can control the pressure and with each race and each competition I learn to manage better and better.

As Michael Phelps said, he didn’t like to win, he hated to lose. I don’t like losing either, but I know that if it ever happens, because it might, it’s either a win or I’ve learned something. So with that mindset there is nothing to worry about.

I want to meet Michael Phelps, I haven’t met him face to face, although he is a perfectly normal person, but when I was growing up, he became my idol, the only person I looked up to so much in swimming…

I would wake up in the morning and do that, watch his races. It would mean something really important to me to meet him, and I think I will have the opportunity through the lens of our now joint sponsor Omega” – Davyd Popovychquoted by GSP.

Finalists of the World Swimming Championships at the distance of 200 m freestyle

1. David Popovichi (Romania) 1:44.70

2. Luke Hobson (USA) 1:44.87

3. Sanu Hwang (South Korea) 1:45.07

4. Tom Dean (Great Britain) 1:45.29

5. Matthew Richards (Great Britain) 1:45.40

6. Hojun Lee (South Korea) 1:45.93

7. Kieran Smith (USA) 1:45.96

8. Felix Obeck (Austria) / Katsuhiro Matsumoto (Japan) 1:45.97.

Know:

• David is the third fastest swimmer in history at this distance (1:42.97, at EC Rome 2022), after German Paul Biedermann (1:42.00) and American legend Michael Phelps (1:42.96).

• David Popovich races will LiveBlog on HotNews.ro and live on the AntenaPlay platform (paid, monthly subscription €7.99).

David Popovici, 200m and 100m freestyle at the Fukuoka Swimming Championships

David Popovichi and 200 m freestyle from the Swimming Championships

July 24 / Evenings / 1:45:86

July 24 / Semifinals / 1:44.70

July 25 / Final / 14:02

David Popovici and the 100m freestyle from the Swimming Championships

July 26 / Evening / time 05:13

July 26 / Semi-final / 14:26 or 14:30

July 27 / Final / 14:21

>> David Popovich and the ease with which he wins medals – how he found balance and happiness

David Popovici, two-time European and world champion in the summer of 2022

David Popovici won two gold medals at the European Swimming Championships in Rome in August 2022, our athlete was unstoppable in the 100m freestyle and also in the 200m freestyle.

We will remind you that in June 2022, David Popovich made a double at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest, having won the 100 m freestyle and 200 m freestyle.

During the entire World Swimming Championships, only one athlete managed to win the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle events from the same edition.

It happened 49 years ago, and the one who ticks off this feat is called Jim Montgomery (USA – he is now 67 years old). That year, the competition was hosted by Belgrade.

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>> David Popovich “scares everyone” before the World Cup in Japan