In the 2022 European Championships, David Popovici broke the 100m world record set by Cesar Cielo in 2009. Clocking in at 46.86, this 18-year-old kid set a new 100m freestyle record in 13 years. This article will cover how David Popovici set the new world record and what significance it will have in the history of swimming.

David Popovici is a Romanian swimmer who first revealed himself on the global stage at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. It has been only a year since he participated in the Tokyo Olympics, and he managed to shorten his record by an astonishing 1.02 seconds. For top athletes like David Popovici, it’s extremely difficult to even maintain their record, and improving even 0.01 seconds requires a lot of effort. David, however, has managed to shorten his record by 1 second in just one year, and this is something that has never happened in the entire history of swimming. What is more shocking is that David Popovici is still improving, and if he was able to shorten his record by a second in merely a year, who knows what he can achieve?

Another reason this record is particularly astounding is that the previous world record was established in the presence of a high-tech bodysuit, which decreases drag against the water, and was thus outlawed as a result of more than 130 swimming records being broken following its introduction. Despite the disadvantage of not having a high-tech swimming suit, David beat Cielo's record by 0.05 seconds.

Personally, it is such an honor to witness a new swimming legend who is only 2 years older than me. I await what Popovici will show us in the future and the fabulous performances in his career.

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