Romanian swimmer David Popovici secured his place in the final of the men’s 100m freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Wednesday, clocking the second-fastest time in the semifinals: 46.84 seconds.
The 20-year-old had already set the pace in the morning heats with the fastest time of 47.41 seconds, but was narrowly edged out in the semifinals by American Jack Alexy, who posted 46.81 seconds.
The biggest upset of the day came from China’s Zhanle Pan, Olympic gold medallist in Paris and current world record holder (46.40 seconds), who failed to qualify for the final. After finishing only sixth in the heats (47.86), Pan registered the 10th-fastest semifinal time (47.81), missing out on the final.
Bronze medallist in the 100m freestyle at the 2024 Olympics, Popovici is a former world champion (2022) and two-time European champion (2022, 2024) in this event.
On Tuesday, Popovici claimed the world title in the men’s 200m freestyle in Singapore.
The men’s 100m freestyle final is scheduled for Thursday at 14:32 Romanian time (EEST).
AGERPRES
