European Aquatics Championships: David Popovici named Male Swimmer of Championships after world record performance

This has been the year of David Popovici.

First, the Romanian swimmer did the sprint freestyle double at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, setting world junior records over both 100m and 200m en route to winning his first two world titles.

Then, this month at the European Championships in Rome, Italy, the 17-year-old – it's worth remembering he is still a teenager – went one better.

Popovici again won both the men's 100m and 200m freestyle titles, but it was the manner of doing so that landed the youngster the award of Male Swimmer of the Championships.

READ MORE: Five things to know about David Popovici

David Popovici's world record performance

Romania's Popovici, who was seventh at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 and had a best time in Tokyo of 47.72, broke the 13-year-old world record in the 100m free in Rome, deposing Cesar Cielo Filho as the king of the pool in 46.86 seconds.

That record, from 2009, had been set by Brazil's Filho in a non-textile bodysuit, which were legal in 2008 and 2009 and produced fast times. Popovici's performance is only the second existing men's freestyle record set in a textile suit – the 50m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 4x100m relay, and 4x200m relay world records all still stand from the period of non-textile suits.

Popovici then lowered his 200m world junior record to 1:42.97 in the final in Rome, which ranks him behind only Michael Phelps and Paul Biedermann, who both set faster times in non-textile suits.

Season not over yet for David Popovici

While most senior European swimmers are now done with major meets for the summer, with the Americans and Australians taking part in the Duel in the Pool, Popovici isn't done yet.

Remember, he's still only 17 – and that means he is age-eligible for the World Junior Swimming Championships, which will be held from 30 August–4 September in Lima, Peru.

There's no ruling out the possibility of yet more world records from the teenager in South America as he chases more history.

What makes him so special?

Bob Bowman, who coached Phelps, compared Popovici to the 28-time Olympic champion in a recent interview with SwimSwam, explaining: "He knows how to not only go for a race but go for it in a way so that he uses his energy effectively over the entire distance."