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David Popovici, a swimming sensation from Romania, has been named the Men's World Swimmer of the Year 2022 by Swimming World Magazine. After his stellar performances over the past two years, he has now been crowned the Men's Swimmer of the Year. He was also named the European Swimmer of the Year.
Just a year ago, Swimming World Magazine had David on their cover and they termed him "The Boy Who Might Be King".
According to Swimming World Magazine, Popovici was unanimously named the World and European Swimmer of the Year by a global panel of 11 journalists. The runner-up in the race for the world and male swimmer of the year was Hungary's Kristof Milak.
David scored 55 points in the race for the Male Swimmer of the Year and European Swimmer of the Year Awards. Kristof scored 36 points in the top five Swimmers of the Year awards and 37 points in the top five European swimmers of the year awards.
Top five World Swimmers and Top five European Swimmers
The top five world male swimmers and top five European male swimmers of the year, along with the points scored by them as revealed by Swimming World Magazine.
Top 5 World Swimmers of the Year (Men)
- David Popovici, Romania - 55
- Kristof Milak, Hungary - 36
- Leon Marchand, France - 28
- Thomas Ceccon, Italy - 21
- Zac Stubblety-Cook, Australia - 13
Top 5 European Swimmers of the Year (Men)
- David Popovici, Romania - 55
- Kristof Milak, Hungary - 37
- Leon Marchand, France - 32
- Thomas Ceccon, Italy - 27
- Nicolo Martinenghi, Italy - 9
In both Male and European Swimmer of the Year, the top four were the same, with David Popovici leading both lists followed by Kristof Milak, Leon Marchand, and Thomas Ceccon. Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia is ranked fifth in the Top five Male Swimmers of the Year with 13 points. Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy was ranked fifth in the top five Male European Swimmers of the Year with nine points.
How many medals did David Popovici win in 2022?
Romanian swimmer David Popovici had a tremendous year in terms of success in 2022, winning 14 medals. At the 2022 Long Course World Championships in Budapest, David claimed gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle and 200-meter freestyle events.
By winning in both these events, Popovici became the first swimmer in 49 years to win gold medals in both the 100-meter freestyle and 200-meter freestyle at the same world championships. He carried his excellent form to the 2022 European Junior Championships in Otopeni, Romania.
David clinched four gold medals and one silver medal at the European Junior Championships. He won the gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, and 4x100-meter freestyle relay events. David Popovici and his teammates helped Team Romania claim a silver medal in the 4x100-meter mixed freestyle medley.
At the 2022 European Aquatics Championships (Long Course) in Rome, the young swimmer won two more gold medals. The Romanian emerged victorious in the 100-meter freestyle event with a world record time of 46.86. He finished the 200-meter freestyle event with a time of 1:42.97. David set a new world junior record with his time of 1:42.97.
He was also named the male swimmer of the meet at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships. Competing at the 2022 World Junior Championships, he won gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, and 4x100-meter freestyle relay events. Popovici claimed a lone silver medal in the 4x100-meter mixed freestyle relay.
David's time of 1:46.18 in the 200-meter freestyle event is a championship record. The Romanian swimmer then competed in the 2022 FINA World Short Course Championships in Melbourne, but it wasn't as fruitful for Popovici when compared with the other competitions he competed in in 2022. He won the silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle event with a national record time of 1:40.79.
Stepping into 2023, David Popovici will be looking forward to winning more gold medals.
