Popovici wins the 100m freestyle at the World Championships with the second-best time ever

David Popovici had the race in his head before he took the plunge. The formula, the equation, for maximum energy reserves in the first 50m without compromising the remaining fuel tank usage in the second 50m, down to the last drop. The 20-year-old Romanian nailed every stroke with geometric perfection, stopping the clock at 46.51 seconds, 1.11 hundredths of a second off the record held by Chinese athlete Pan Zhanle, who suddenly emerged in 2024 and achieved the 46.40s that earned him gold at the Paris Games.

Pan at the Chinese national championships (46.80s), Popovici in the semifinals of these World Championships in Singapore (46.71s) and in the final (46.51s), and Pan in the final of the Olympics (46.40s), are vying for the throne of sustained speed in another dimension. Behind them are the others, and there are not many in the history of swimming. The American Jack Alexy (46.81s) at these championships, the Brazilian Cesar Cielo (46.91s) at the 2009 World Championships, the Frenchman Alain Bernard (46.94s) at the French national championships in 2009, and Caeleb Dressel (46.96s) at the 2019 World Championships.

Popovici stuck to the classic negative swimming plan. He's been trying to attack the record for three years and is increasingly perfecting the strategy of saving himself in the first 50 meters. This Thursday, he crossed the first wall in fourth place (22.49 seconds), behind Russian Egor Kornev (22.38 seconds), Brazilian Gilherme Caribe (22.43 seconds), and American Jack Alexy (22.48 seconds).

“I’ve improved my turning, my underwater swimming, and my stroke length,” he said upon exiting the water. “These are boring aspects of training, but they’ve given me what I needed.” Popovici was the last to emerge. He emerged after propelling himself about ten meters underwater and moved forward like an arrow. Or like a dragonfly, the insect he himself says inspires him. He crossed the water with barely a splash, stretched his arms without allowing the rush to alter his delicate stroke, and his long fingers rested on the surface with a magician’s touch. Beneath the appearance of finesse lay a turbine capable of moving tons of water in his favor. His last 50 seconds were sublime. He clocked 24.02 seconds on the lap and sent a message to the strange Pan: the race to the Los Angeles Games begins now.

The Chinese athlete must have watched it on television after being disqualified in Wednesday's semifinals. Pan simply didn't perform up to par. This is unusual for natural talents, if there really is one here. His time of 47.81 seconds only placed him tenth in the world.