Paris Olympics, Day 3 Finals: David Popovici Claims Gold in 200 Freestyle with Last-Stroke Heroics

Paris Olympics, Day 3 Finals: David Popovici Claims Gold in 200 Freestyle with Last-Stroke Heroics

The October 2021 edition of Swimming World featured an image of rising star David Popovici on the cover. His teeth clenched, the Romanian teenager splashed water at the end of a race, clearly pleased with his just-completed performance. Inside the magazine, an article identified Popovici as The Boy Who Might be King.

The proclamation wasn’t outlandish. After all, the 17-year-old was coming off a summer in which he finished fourth in the 200-meter freestyle at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, coming up .02 shy of the podium. He was also seventh in the 100 freestyle, and his limitless potential suggested a spectacular future.

This morning, the Romanian youngster sits at the peak of his sport.

Delivering on the vast promise that triggered gold-medal Olympic chatter years before the Games made their way to Paris, Popovici clipped the field in the 200 freestyle on Monday night, prevailing behind a time of 1:44.72. How did Popovici stamp himself an Olympic champion? Look no further than the finish of a lifetime, one in which the now 19-year-old perfectly extended his arm to the touchpad.

As the athletes approached the wall, it seemed any one of four contenders were in position to mine gold. Really, Popovici looked like the least likely to touch first – until he spun that finishing magic. Grabbing the silver medal was Great Britain’s Matt Richards, the 2023 world champion. Richards posted a time of 1:44.74, which held off the United States’ Luke Hobson, who picked up the silver medal in 1:44.79. Locked off the podium was Duncan Scott (1:44.87), the silver medalist in the event in Tokyo.

“I feel amazing,” Popovici said. “It is so great to be here. So many Romanians in the crowd. It’s beautiful, a dream come true. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s so simple, yet so beautiful.”

Coming off a 1:43.13 showing at last month’s European Championships in Belgrade, Popovici arrived in the City of Lights carrying a wave of momentum. No one else in the field had ever broken the 1:44 barrier, so anything close to his best figured to produce a comfortable triumph. Instead, he came through in down-to-the-wire fashion.

Popovici’s march to Olympic-champion status was bolstered by a 2022 campaign in which he routinely turned heads in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle. At the World Championships in Budapest, Popovici captured double gold. A month later, he used the European Champs in Rome as the stage for the fastest textile time in the history of the 200 free and a world-record time of 46.86 in the 100 freestyle.

At the time, Popovici seemed invincible. But his 2023 season was bumpy at best, as he left the World Championships in Fukuoka without hardware. A fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle was followed by a sixth-place outing in the 100 free. Suddenly, there were questions concerning his ability to rebound for the Olympic year.

Clearly, Popovici regained his mojo.

In addition to his 1:43-low marker in the 200 freestyle, Popovici clocked 46.88 in the 100 freestyle at the European Champs. That performance slotted as the third-fastest in history and scared the 46.80 world record of China’s Pan Zhanle. More than anything, it guided the Romanian into Paris on a positive note.

Popovici went out in 24.10 and sat in second place at the first turn, as Germany’s Lukas Martens set the pace at 24.05. On a split of 50.52, Martens, the champion of the 400 freestyle on the opening night of action, continued to lead at the midway point in 50.52, while Popovici (51.12) slipped to a tie for third with Japan’s Katsuhiro Matsumoto. At that point, Richards had moved into second at 50.92, while Hobson lagged back in seventh in 51.37.

At the final turn, Martens remained in front at 1:17.61, with a blanket covering Popovici (1:17.98), Richards (1:17.99), a fast-charging Hobson (1:18.00) and Scott (1:18.10). Down the last lap, Martens fell back as his quartet of foes battled stroke for stroke. In the end, it was Popovici who figured the quickest way to the wall. Martens tied for fifth with Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys at 1:45.46.

Richards became the third different British man to medal in the 200 freestyle at the past two Games, joining the gold-silver duo of Tom Dean and Scott from Tokyo. As for Hobson, he has become the United States’ premier 200 freestyler. The NCAA champion from the University of Texas was the titlist at the United States Olympic Trials and earlier this year won bronze at the World Championships in Doha.