Romania’s David Popovici delivered a record-breaking performance on the final night of the European Aquatics U23 Swimming Championships, lowering his own European record in the men’s 100m freestyle to 46.71. The time eclipses the 46.86 mark he set back in 2022 during a sizzling summer run that saw him win double gold at both the World and European Championships, along with three World Junior titles.
The 20-year-old Olympic and world champion dominated the race from start to finish, clocking an exceptional back-half split of 23.98—faster than the 24.12 posted by Pan Zhanle in his World-Record-setting swim at Paris 2024. Popovici now holds the second-fastest time in history, behind Pan’s 46.40 world mark.
Speaking after the race, Popovici said:
“I would say it was pretty fast, but I wouldn’t say it was unexpected because I’ve been feeling well. We haven’t tapered for this meet—maybe just cut down a few kilometres—but I always say a happy swimmer is a fast swimmer. If I’m relaxed and happy, I can achieve what I love most.”
Having opened the championships with a commanding win in the 200m freestyle (1:43.64, the fastest time in the world this year), Popovici added bronze in the 50m freestyle, finishing with a total of three medals. With the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Singapore just weeks away, the Romanian swimmer appears in formidable form.
Portugal’s Diogo Ribeiro, also a world champion, capped off his campaign with gold in the men’s 50m butterfly in 23.01. Ukraine’s Vladyslav Bukhov (23.09) and Romania’s Denis-Laurean Popescu (23.43) completed the podium in a tightly contested final.
Ribeiro, who also won the 50m freestyle world title in 2023 and is eyeing the newly added 50m butterfly event for LA 2028, welcomed the chance to test his speed.
“It’s my favourite event, so I’m happy. I feel good, and it’s a good sign heading into Worlds. I want a medal in the 50 fly, 50 free—everything. I think it’s possible.”
Austria’s Luka Mladenovic and Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk each completed impressive hat-tricks of gold medals. Mladenovic added the 100m breaststroke title (59.97) to his earlier victories in the 50m and 200m events. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Lisovets (1:00.36) and the Netherlands’ Ivo Kroes (1:00.62) followed him to the podium.
“It started with the 50, then a gold from lane 8 in the 200, and now the 100—it makes me super proud.”
Vanotterdijk, 20, took her third gold in the women’s 50m butterfly with a time of 25.63. She also claimed titles in the 100m butterfly and 50m backstroke, along with silver in the 100m backstroke and 50m freestyle.
“I’m so happy to be making personal bests before the World Championships in Singapore. It gives me confidence, and the speed helps with my 100m events. This competition is an important step from juniors to seniors.”
The final evening featured strong performances from across Europe, with 10 nations winning gold medals across 12 finals. Germany’s Sven Schwarz claimed the men’s 800m freestyle title in 7:38.98—just shy of his own European record. Bulgaria’s Petar Mitsin (7:53.32) and France’s Emile Vincent (7:53.88) completed the podium.
In the women’s 100m freestyle, the Netherlands’ Milou van Wijk won in 53.66, followed by Germany’s Nina Holt (54.01) and Hungary’s Minna Abraham (54.36), who had shared the 200m freestyle title earlier in the week.
Other highlights from the final night included:
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Women’s 200m breaststroke: Denmark’s Clara Rybak-Andersen earned her country’s first gold in 2:23.89. Ireland’s Ellie McCartney took silver (2:24.02), adding to her earlier medals, and Lithuania’s Kotryna Teterevkova claimed bronze (2:24.86).
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Men’s 100m backstroke: Great Britain’s Jack Skerry won in 53.35, ahead of Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zheltiakov (53.93) and British teammate Matthew Ward (54.29).
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Women’s 200m backstroke: Honey Osrin gave Great Britain its second gold of the evening in 2:11.28. Poland’s Adela Piskorska (2:11.56) and France’s Lou-Anne Guiton (2:11.68) completed the podium.
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Women’s 1500m freestyle: Greece’s Artemis Vasilaki won in 16:22.20, securing her country’s fourth gold. Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz (16:26.58) and Germany’s Marian Plöger (16:32.40) took silver and bronze.
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Men’s 200m individual medley: Hungary’s Dominik Torok topped the podium in 2:00.00, followed by Ukraine’s Vadym Naumenko (2:00.51) and Greece’s Daniil Giourtzidis (2:00.56).
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Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay: Hungary closed the competition with gold in 3:27.13, narrowly ahead of Germany (3:27.16) and Great Britain (3:27.93). The win helped Hungary secure third place on the final medals table.
Final Medal Table Highlights:
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Poland led the medal table with five golds and a total of 11 medals.
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Germany also collected five golds, finishing second overall with seven total medals.
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Hungary and Greece each earned four golds, with Hungary edging into third place thanks to their overall count (10 vs 9).
With standout performances across all distances and strokes, the U23 Championships once again proved to be a valuable development platform for Europe’s rising aquatic talent ahead of the upcoming World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.