'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABjAAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABxAAAgEDAwUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDAAURBAYhEhMVJHEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIEEQADAAIBBQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMAEQQSI0FSYf/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8Ao1/uUXl4ptXBE8rMolljiVZWQHle42SeBgE5xUvW972Kjq1NszgZ9VTz9K0pSpxZRs5Q0BIXfcbxv7kwo1ETqCnQ9QM//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
David Popovici might have been the strongest swimmer in 2022, but he was unsure about himself before last week's Short Course World Championships.
The Romanian star did not think he had what it required to excel in the short-course pool after a breakthrough year in which he won long-course world titles in the men's 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle, breaking the world record in the latter competition.
In an Instagram post after the tournament, David shared that he was pretty surprised with what he had done. In one of the lines of the long caption, he wrote,
“However, once I started, I realized that I am way stronger than I imagined and that it was all in my head.”
Popovici's Instagram post
David Popovici posted an image on Instagram and wrote a long caption in which he talked about the experience he had at the World Short-Course Championships.
“I know most of the time I look or appear very confident, but coming into the Short Course World Championship I doubted myself and my abilities.”
He added, writing that he did not like racing on short courses and that he just wanted to stay real throughout the process:
“Before I started, I was just trying to be realistic in terms of what I could achieve, knowing I don’t like racing short course and also that I’m not so good at it. However, once I started, I realized that I am way stronger than I imagined and that it was all in my head.”
He even said he doubted his abilities and now thinks that the insecurities make a man stronger:
“In the end, I managed to snatch one last World Junior Record in the 100m free and the Silver medal in the 200m free, proving once again to myself that doubt and insecurities can make you stronger."
Upon concluding his post, he thanked everyone for the amazing year he had:
“Thank you everybody for this amazing year, this was the perfect way of ending it. :)”
David Popovici's Short Course Championship performance
David Popovici, the 18-year-old upcoming swimming star, did have success in Melbourne, breaking the previous World Junior Record in the men's 100-meter freestyle while finishing fourth in a time of 45.64. He also went on to win the silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle in a time of 1:40.79. Interestingly, both swims set new Romanian Records.
Hwang Sunwoo of South Korea, who is 19 and one year older than Popovici, won the 200-meter freestyle in 1:39.72, which was the first swim sub 1:40 in 10 years.
David Popovici finished the year as the long course world champion, European champion, World Junior champion, and European Junior champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyles, as well as the Euro Junior champion in the 50-meter freestyle, and he capped it off with a silver medal finish at the Short Course World Championship in the 200-meter freestyle.
Not only did he finish the long course 100-meter freestyle in 46.86 seconds, shattering the super-suited world record, but he also broke the 1:43 barrier in the 200-meter freestyle with a textile suit, finishing in 1:42.97.
David Popovici is no doubt on the right path to achieving great success. Now it will depend upon the regular performances that might mold him as a future swimming star.
