Latest news with #DavidPopovici
Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
McIntosh and Marchand dazzle for gold at world championships
Summer McIntosh came within a whisker of breaking a long-standing world record and Leon Marchand failed to improve on a new mark he set just a night earlier, but both young guns won gold medals at the world championships in Singapore on Thursday. Romania's David Popovici also flirted with a record on day five at the World Aquatics Championships Arena, the 20-year-old claiming a thrilling 100 metres freestyle gold to go with his 200 crown on day three. The 200 butterfly world record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009 is the last surviving mark from the supersuit era in women's swimming -- and McIntosh all but took it down. She stormed to her third individual gold medal of the meet in 2:01.99, the second-fastest swim of all time and a yawning three seconds better than American silver medallist Regan Smith. Having made the last turn under world record pace the Canadian 18-year-old flagged slightly coming home and shouted an expletive when she spied the clock. "I know that I messed up the last 15 metres of my race," she said. "Overall, happy with the time and a PB, but I didn't reach my goal tonight." China's 12-year-old marvel Yu Zidi finished just off the podium again having also placed fourth in the 200 IM. McIntosh might console herself in the knowledge that her bid for five individual titles remains intact, with the 400 IM and a hugely anticipated showdown with American great Katie Ledecky in the 800 freestyle still to come. Only Michael Phelps has won five individual golds at a world championships. Marchand, dubbed the "French Phelps", celebrated a world record on Wednesday when he blitzed the long-standing 200 IM mark of Ryan Lochte with an incredible swim of 1:52.69 in the semifinals. With victory seemingly assured in the final the only suspense was whether Marchand might reset his world record from the previous night but he ended up nearly a second short, with a time of 1:53.68. It was still the second fastest swim ever and led to a dominant win by 0.62 seconds ahead of American Shaine Casas and Hungarian Hubert Kos. Marchand said the record may have taken a bit out of him but he was hardly complaining. "I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep," he said. "So I think I lost a lot of energy yesterday night, but it was my goal to break the record, so I was really happy with it." Popovici then emerged the winner of a sensational men's 100 freestyle final, clocking 46.51 to give Pan Zhanle's world record (46.40) a big scare. American runner-up Jack Alexy also broke the 47-second barrier (46.92), while Paris Games silver medallist Kyle Chalmers took the bronze for Australia. At 20, 200 Olympic champion Popovici has already completed the 100-200 sweep twice at world championships, having done the double at Budapest three years ago. The relaxed Romanian said he had reached a higher plain; no longer worried about winning or losing. "I just feel very relieved that this huge pressure of being afraid of winning or losing is off me," he said. "I don't mean it in an arrogant way, I mean it in a self-maturing way." The United States celebrated a fourth gold in the meet as Katharine Berkoff won the 50 backstroke in 27.08 seconds, edging compatriot Smith. In the finale of Thursday's programme, Australia's women clinched a second relay gold as Mollie O'Callaghan held off Ledecky in a thrilling final leg to guide her 4x200 freestyle relay team over the finish line. Australia also won the men's and women's 4x100 freestyle golds on Sunday. O'Callaghan, whose 11th gold tied her with Ian Thorpe as the most successful Australian at the world championships, will now look to add the 100 freestyle title to her 200 crown on Friday. Medals will also be decided in the men's 200 breaststroke, 200 backstroke and 4x200 freestyle relay, as well as the women's 200 breaststroke.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Summer McIntosh wins third gold of swimming worlds as Marchand dazzles
Summer McIntosh came within a whisker of breaking a long-standing world record and Léon Marchand failed to improve on a new mark he set just a night earlier, but both young guns won gold medals at the world championships in Singapore on Thursday. Romania's David Popovici also flirted with a record on day five at the World Aquatics Championships Arena, the 20-year-old claiming a thrilling 100 metres freestyle gold to go with his 200 crown on day three. The 200 butterfly world record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009 is the last surviving mark from the supersuit era in women's swimming – and McIntosh all but took it down. The schedule The swimming portion of the World Aquatics Championships takes place from 27 July through 3 August at the Singapore Sports Hub. The heats start at 10am local time (2am GMT, 10pm ET). The semi-finals and finals start at 7pm local time (11am GMT, 7am ET). The full schedule is available in PDF format or on the World Aquatics website. How to watch In the United States, coverage will be available on NBC and streaming service Peacock. In the United Kingdom, Aquatics GB holds the UK rights to stream events. In Australia, the Nine Network will provide broadcast coverage throughout the championships. In Canada, events will be broadcast live on CBC, with streaming options via CBC digital platforms. For other countries and full international broadcast listings, visit the World Aquatics broadcast page. Additionally, the World Aquatics Recast channel will re-air all sessions of the meet, heats and finals for a fee. She stormed to her third individual gold medal of the meet in 2:01.99, the second-fastest swim of all time and a yawning three seconds better than American silver medallist Regan Smith. Having made the last turn under world record pace the Canadian 18-year-old flagged slightly coming home and shouted an expletive when she spied the clock. 'I know that I messed up the last 15 metres of my race,' she said. 'Overall, happy with the time and a PB, but I didn't reach my goal tonight.' 3 races, 3 GOLDS for Summer McIntosh after a win in the 200m butterfly.📺: Peacock | #AQUASingapore25 China's 12-year-old marvel Yu Zidi finished just off the podium again having also placed fourth in the 200 IM. McIntosh might console herself in the knowledge that her bid for five individual titles remains intact, with the 400 IM and a hugely anticipated showdown with American great Katie Ledecky in the 800 freestyle still to come. Only Michael Phelps has won five individual golds at a world championships. Marchand, dubbed the French Phelps", celebrated a world record on Wednesday when he blitzed the long-standing 200 IM mark of Ryan Lochte with an incredible swim of 1:52.69 in the semi-finals. With victory seemingly assured in the final the only suspense was whether Marchand might reset his world record from the previous night but he ended up nearly a second short, with a time of 1:53.68. It was still the second fastest swim ever and led to a dominant win by 0.62 seconds ahead of American Shaine Casas and Hungarian Hubert Kos. Marchand said the record may have taken a bit out of him but he was hardly complaining. 'I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep,' he said. 'So I think I lost a lot of energy yesterday night, but it was my goal to break the record, so I was really happy with it.' Popovici then emerged the winner of a sensational men's 100 freestyle final, clocking 46.51 to give Pan Zhanle's world record (46.40) a big scare. American runner-up Jack Alexy also broke the 47-second barrier (46.92), while Paris Games silver medallist Kyle Chalmers took the bronze for Australia. At 20, 200 Olympic champion Popovici has already completed the 100-200 sweep twice at world championships, having done the double at Budapest three years ago. The relaxed Romanian said he had reached a higher plain; no longer worried about winning or losing. 'I just feel very relieved that this huge pressure of being afraid of winning or losing is off me,' he said. 'I don't mean it in an arrogant way, I mean it in a self-maturing way.' The United States celebrated a fourth gold in the meet as Katharine Berkoff won the 50 backstroke in 27.08 seconds, edging compatriot Smith. In the finale of Thursday's programme, Australia's women clinched a second relay gold as Mollie O'Callaghan held off Ledecky in a thrilling final leg to guide her 4x200 freestyle relay team over the finish line. Australia also won the men's and women's 4x100 freestyle golds on Sunday. O'Callaghan, whose 11th gold tied her with Ian Thorpe as the most successful Australian at the world championships, will now look to add the 100 freestyle title to her 200 crown on Friday. Medals will also be decided in the men's 200 breaststroke, 200 backstroke and 4x200 freestyle relay, as well as the women's 200 breaststroke.
Saba Yemen
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Saba Yemen
Popovic wins gold in 100m freestyle at FINA World aquatics championships
Singapore – Saba: Romanian swimmer David Popovici won the gold medal in the 100m freestyle on Thursday at the FINA World Aquatics Championships currently being held in Singapore. The Romanian swimmer won the race with a time of 46.51 seconds, breaking the championship record. American Jack Alexi finished second and won the silver medal with a time of 46.92 seconds, while Australian Kyle Chalmers finished third and won the bronze medal with a time of 47.17 seconds. This is the second gold medal won by Romanian David Popovici at the championships, after winning the 200m freestyle. Whatsapp Telegram Email more of (International)
The Star
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Swimming-Popovici builds a wall and his rivals pay for it
Swimming - World Aquatics Championships - Men 100m Freestyle Finals - World Aquatics Championships Arena, Singapore - July 31, 2025 Romania's David Popovici celebrates winning the final REUTERS/Hollie Adams (Reuters) -David Popovici said he builds mental walls around his lane to block out the competition and keep him focused on gold at the world championships after the Romanian added the 100 metres freestyle title to his 200 crown in Singapore on Thursday. Popovici, who also won the 100 and 200 titles in Budapest in 2022, touched the wall in 46.51 seconds at the World Aquatics Championships Arena ahead of American Jack Alexy and Australian Kyle Chalmers. "I think the one who wins is the one who can detach themselves from their competitors," the 20-year-old said. "So I managed to build walls between each of my lanes and imagined I was swimming alone. "Don't look at the others. Try not to think of what Kyle is doing. Try and not look to the left for what Jack is doing. "I managed to focus on what I had to do. And I delivered." Popovici said it was surreal to be competing beside Chalmers after watching the Australian on television at the Rio Olympics in 2016 when he won gold in the 100. "I was telling Kyle just before in the call room how crazy I think it is that when I was a 12-year-old, I was looking to him at the Olympics," he told Australian broadcaster Nine Network in Singapore. "I was 12, he was 18, winning gold at the Olympics. And so now being able to race with him for the same medals, it's just bonkers. And I'm really happy of how far I've come and we've come." Chalmers, whose bronze was his 14th medal at the worlds, said he was gutted not to break the 47-second mark after finishing in 47.17 seconds. "It's incredible how much this event has improved over the years, you knew it was going to be really tight and really fast," the 27-year-old said. "I've been training hard for that moment, I desperately wanted to get a 46 out tonight but wasn't quite there. To get on the podium is so special and I'm just really excited to go home now and become a dad. That's my biggest priority this year." (Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
The Independent
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand take gold at World Championships - but miss out on new world records
Summer McIntosh came within a whisker of breaking a long-standing world record and Leon Marchand failed to improve on a new mark he set just a night earlier, but both young stars won gold medals at the world championships in Singapore on Thursday. Romania's David Popovici also flirted with a record on day five at the World Aquatics Championships Arena, the 20-year-old claiming a thrilling 100m freestyle gold to go with his 200m crown on day three. The 200m butterfly world record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009 is the last surviving mark from the supersuit era in women's swimming - and McIntosh narrowly missed out on breaking it. She stormed to her third individual gold medal of the meet in 2:01.99, the second-fastest swim of all-time and a yawning three seconds better than American silver medallist Regan Smith. Having made the last turn under world record pace the Canadian flagged slightly coming home and shouted an expletive when she spied the clock. 'I know that I messed up the last 15 metres of my race,' she said. 'Overall, happy with the time and a PB, but I didn't reach my goal tonight.' China's 12-year-old marvel Yu Zidi finished just off the podium again having also finished fourth in the 200m individual medley won by McIntosh. The 18-year-old might console herself in the knowledge that her bid for five individual titles remains intact, with the 400m individual medley and a hugely anticipated showdown with Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle still to come. Only Michael Phelps has won five individual golds at a world championships. Marchand, dubbed the 'French Phelps', celebrated a world record on Wednesday when he blitzed the long-standing 200m individual medley mark of Ryan Lochte with an incredible swim of 1:52.69 in the semi-finals. The 23-year-old shaved nearly a second and a half off the American's benchmark, which had stood for 14 years. With victory seemingly assured in the final the only suspense was whether Marchand might reset his world record from the previous night but he ended up nearly a second short, with a time of 1:53.68. It was still the second fastest swim ever and led to a dominant win by 0.62 seconds ahead of American Shaine Casas and Hungarian Hubert Kos. Britain's Duncan Scott was fourth, missing out on a medal by nearly a second. Marchand said the record may have taken a bit out of him but he was hardly complaining. 'I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep,' he said. 'So I think I lost a lot of energy yesterday night, but it was my goal to break the record, so I was really happy with it.' Popovici then emerged the winner of a sensational men's 100m freestyle final, clocking 46.51 to give Pan Zhanle's world record (46.40) a big scare. American runner-up Jack Alexy also broke the 47-second barrier (46.92), while Paris Games silver medallist Kyle Chalmers took the bronze for Australia. At 20, 200m Olympic champion Popovici has already completed the 100-200 sweep twice at world championships, having done the double at Budapest three years ago. The United States celebrated a fourth gold in the meet as Katharine Berkoff won the 50m backstroke in 27.08 seconds, edging compatriot Smith.
