David Popovici (18) finished fourth in the 200m freestyle at the World Swimming Championships, surprising everyone who thought he would break the world record.

At 50 meters, David was below the record, because the Romanian swam the first pool in 23.74 seconds. He then lost the battle by seconds, but still finished first, 26.44 and 26.60.

David was overtaken in the last 25 meters, he covered the last 50 meters in 28.12 seconds.

“It didn’t surprise me, it’s a sport. Sometimes you win, sometimes you come fourth. Sometimes you take fourth place, like I did in the Olympics. Since then, I had to learn a lot, as I do now. I’m not upset or angry. I just realized what happened!” said David Popovich, sitting on a chair in the mixed zone.

“The last 50 meters were terrible, but it means we can improve something, which is good. If you run a perfect race, it means that there is nothing more you need to improve, that you have reached the limit, there is nothing more you can do. I’m glad it happened now and I think it makes sense and I have to learn something,” he added.

Read in full at GSP.ro

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