David Popovici 'overcome by fear' days before winning two world championship titles

In the corridors of the Olympic swimming pool at the Singapore Sports Hub, there's a traffic jam of stars per square metre. In the stifling mixed zone where journalists and swimmers are crammed, Léon Marchand , who has just won the world title in the 200m individual medley, sees the arrival of the big guys from the 100m freestyle final. His compatriot Maxime Grousset, 7th (47.59) in the main event on Thursday, July 31, then the American Jack Alexy (2nd, 46.92) and the Australian Kyle Chalmers (3rd, 47.17).

Then David Popovici finally arrives, looking satisfied. The 20-year-old Romanian can rejoice, he's once again world champion in the discipline. What's more, with the best European time and the second-fastest time in history (46.51 seconds). Barely eleven hundredths of a second off the shattering record set by China's Pan Zhanle – eliminated in the semi-finals the day before – at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (46.40 seconds).

David Popovici's face also reveals relief. For him, the World Championships are over. And they could have never started. "I'm just happy to be here," he says, aware that he has experienced a kaleidoscope of emotions in less than a week. After his first victory of the week in the 200m freestyle on Tuesday, he spoke for several minutes about the pain that had been eating away at him a few days earlier. Without filter, in a moment of great sincerity.

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