David Popovici wins Romania’s first ever swimming Olympic gold medal

David Popovici became the first Romanian to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming on Monday night as he took the top honours in the men’s 200m freestyle at Paris 2024.

Speaking on his historic result, Popovici said:

“It’s historic. First gold in men’s swimming for our country. I’m very happy. I couldn’t do it without the country standing behind me and with me. But at the end of the day, I managed this because I did it for me.

“I did it for the child in me, I did it for my family and for my friends, for the close team that I have next to me, and also for my country.”

“2022 was the year I rose to fame in the swimming world in my country. It was the year I got really fast. I got a taste of this whole new world, the start of a new career. The next year, 2023 was a transition year in which I had to get used to everything that was very new for me and very overwhelming.

“This year, I got to enjoy it and train extremely hard. Only we know the hard work that happens behind the scenes. The public only sees the glory, the shiny medals, the strong finishes and the racing.

“We go training whenever we have a cold. We go swimming whenever we have two or three hours of sleep because we’re stressed about the Olympics. So many sacrifices go unnoticed. Qualifying here is often overlooked, and it’s very hard.”

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