By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
2025 World Championships
July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming) Singapore, Singapore World Aquatics Championships Arena LCM (50m) Meet Central How To Watch SwimSwam Preview Index Entry Book Live Results Euro Recap, Day 1: Lukas Märtens Earns First World Title, Completes Epic Year In 400 Free Euro Recap, Day 2: Roos Vanotterdijk Wins Belgium’s First World Championship Medal Since 1998 Euro Recap, Day 3: Simona Quadarella Swims First 1500 Free PB In Six Years, Sets European Record Euro Recap, Day 4: Sven Schwarz and Lukas Märtens’ 800 Free Medals Keep Germany Riding HighAfter the men’s 100 freestyle, on-deck reporter Elizabeth Beisel asked David Popovici, the new world champion, what was going through his mind after throwing down a 46.51. The time is the second-fastest performance in history and betters the European record (46.71) he swam last month at the LEN U-23 European Championships.
Draped in a Romanian flag, Popovici exhaled strongly before answering. “In a few words, I am really happy to be here. It’s as simple as that.”
It is an understandable answer given what he had just achieved—his second personal best in a month, a swim .11 seconds away from reclaiming the world record, and a trip to the 100 freestyle World Championship podium for the first time since 2022. As if that was not enough, he had just completed the 100/200 freestyle double for the second time in his career. When he first accomplished the feat at the 2022 World Championships, at just 17, he was the first male swimmer to do so since 1973.
While his response was simple, it was far from surface level. Because Popovici very nearly was not in Singapore to do accomplish all that.
After winning the 200 freestyle and defending his Olympic gold, Popovici told Agence-France Presse, “Frankly, just one or two days before the competition I wanted to pull out,” sharing that he went as far as looking up flights.
“I just wasn’t feeling well. It wasn’t a fear of competing or fear or losing, it was the fear of—how do I put it—I scratched my own potential, the huge potential I realized I have this year, I scratched it, I saw it, I tasted it, and then the fear of reaching your own potential. That’s very scary.”
As a teenage breakout star, Popovici burst onto the international stage with a brash, competitive edge. But Popovici has also always been a cerebral swimmer. As he has evolved from the brashness of his breakout years, his thoughtful and often analytical answers during interviews have become a more enduring trait. Listening to him talk, it is no surprise he studies psychology at university.
Still, it was a surprise to hear him open up about the fear of reaching his full potential. Many people wonder what will happen if they don’t achieve their goals. Who will they be? Popovici was tapped into the opposite question, but one no less terrifying: What if I do? Then what?
“I’m really glad I didn’t quit,” he said after his 200 freestyle win, where he came from behind on the closing 50 meters to win in 1:43.53. In a post-race interview, he shared the world title felt “even better than the Olympics.”
Even so, the conundrum was still on his mind after the 100 freestyle.
“I didn’t expect the 46.5. That was pretty fast,” he said. “I mean, I’m also surprising myself a little bit. I’m surprised, but not shocked, because I have sort of scratched these times in training, so I knew what I was capable of. It was just a matter of how can I be less afraid of reaching my own potential.”
But this time, Popovici shared his answer to that fear. “When I really realized that I’ve got nothing to be scared of and that I’m a good swimmer, I realized I can do this.”
It might seem odd that a two-time Olympic medalist is still coming to terms with how far his talent can take him. But as Popovici philosophized, these fears are not unique to him. “These thoughts [of not being good] crawl up all the time on me, and even on Phelps or Marchand and any other swimmer, athlete, or human being.”
While the Olympics are considered swimming’s biggest stage, it is clear these World Championships carried a lot of weight for Popovici. It is his first World Championships since the 2023 edition, where after an intense period in his life outside of the pool, he missed the podium in the 100 and 200 freestyle, both of which he had won the year before.
Popovici got back on the podium at the Paris Olympics. He made his first Olympic medal a gold by earning a close win in the 200 freestyle, then earned bronze in the 100 freestyle.
“I’ve been thinking about the Olympics every day since I was 10, no exaggeration,” he told Agence-France Presse. “But once I did that, I came to the realization that nothing changes, my life doesn’t change. So coming into this year, I really wanted to prove to myself that I can do it even after such a hard and successful year.”
Popovici has done just that—his 2025 World Championships are complete. He’s also still got something to chase. “Frankly, I’m happy that I didn’t break the world record today,” he said. “I’m happy that I’ve gotten closer to it, but this way I have something to look forward to. And so, that’ll keep me alert going on.”
But right now, he is not worried about what happens next. “I don’t know, but I usually don’t know,” he said, referring to what’s next in his swimming career.
“But I know what the next immediate plans are, which is to have a big holiday, go on the beach, lay on my back, celebrate accordingly, have some fun, get my motorcycle license, learn to cook, drive my fast car. Enjoy life a little because it’s not all about swimming. So, in order to do this, a happy swimmer is a fast swimmer, you know?”
Quick Hits
Marchand Wins 200 IM With First 1:53, Kos Grabs Bronze
At last, swimming fans have seen a 1:53 200 IM. Of course, it comes the day after Leon Marchand fired off a mind-boggling 1:52.69 world record in the semifinals. He became the first man to break 1:54.00 seconds with that time, bypassing 1:53 entirely.
Marchand logged the world’s first 1:53 to win gold, swimming a 1:53.68. “This year has been up and down all the time — like every other athlete, I would say,” Marchand acknowledged after the race. “But I’m just so happy to be at my highest level right now, competing in front of this pretty cool crowd. It’s been really good, so thank you guys.”
Shaine Casas, Leon Marchand, Hubert Kos (credit: Nardia Mulkerrins)
The podium ceremony was another special moment for Marchand as he got to share it with his training partners Shaine Casas and Hubert Kos. All three are part of Bob Bowman‘s training group at the University of Texas.
“That moment only comes around once in a lifetime,” said Kos on getting to share the podium with his training partners. It was the start of a busy evening for Kos, who pulled a 200 IM/200 backstroke double this session.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Kos compete in a 200 IM final on the long-course international stage. Kos first broke onto the scene in the 200 IM–he owns the world junior record in the event, which he swam before moving to train with Bowman. Since making that move, he’s focused on backstroke–and some butterfly–at international competitions, forgoing the 200 IM.
“Back to my roots,” Kos quipped after the race. “I returned to the event where I made my first world championship final, and really, really glad to get a medal out of it.” Kos swam 1:55.34 for bronze, a lifetime best that puts him within reach of Laslo Cseh‘s super-suited 1:55.18 Hungarian record.
National Record Bonanza In Men’s 200 Back Semifinals
Five national records fell during the men’s 200 backstroke semifinals, with European swimmers responsible for three of them. 100 backstroke bronze medalist Yohann Ndoye-Brouard took over the French record with a 1:54.47. This is the second event he’s swum a French record in this week, as he brought the national record sub-52 seconds with his medal-winning swim.
Yohann NDOYE-BROUARD (photo: Jack Spitser)
Ndoye-Brouard’s 1:54.47 was well under the former French record of 1:55.38, which Mewen Tomac swam in the Paris Olympic final. Ndoye-Brouard dropped 1.15 seconds from his personal best with the time. It’s his first personal best in the event since the 2022 European Championships.
Roman Mityukov improved the Swiss record he swam for Olympic bronze last summer. The 24-year-old cut two-hundredths from the mark with a 1:54.83, positioning himself fourth for the final. If he earns a medal tomorrow night, it will be his third-straight Worlds podium in the event. He earned silver at the 2024 Worlds and bronze in 2023.
Finally, Jan Cejka swam his first lifetime best in the 200 back in four years to reset his Czech record. Cejka held the mark at 1:56.66 since the 2021 European Championships. He hadn’t been sub-1:57 since that swim but stormed under 1:56 today with a 1:55.46. That’s a 1.20-second drop for Cejka who will swim in the final tomorrow. The final features six European swimmers including Hubert Kos, the reigning Olympic champion and favorite for the race. Kos qualified third (1:54.64) after winning bronze in the 200 IM earlier in the session.
Steenbergen, Chikunova Claim Top Seeds For Tomorrow’s Finals
Two European women have claimed lane four for their final tomorrow evening. First, Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen fired off a 52.81 in the first women’s 100 freestyle semifinal. That time held up as the fastest of the round, with Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan checking in a hundredth behind Steenbergen.
Marrit Steenbergen (photo: Jack Spitser)
It was a solid effort for Steenbergen and the seventh-fastest swim of her career, a day after throwing down a sub-52 freestyle split on the Netherlands’ mixed 4×100 medley relay. Steenbergen is the defending champion in the event; she swam a Dutch record 52.26 to win the Doha title.
Steenbergen also won 100 freestyle bronze in 2023, meaning she is also chasing her third straight long-course Worlds podium in the event.
The Netherlands will have two women in the women’s 100 freestyle final. The 20-year-old Milou van Wijk qualified 8th for the final in 53.51.
Then, Evgeniia Chikunova, representing the Neutral Athletes – B committee, earned the top seed in the women’s 200 breaststroke. The world record holder swam a 2:20.65 in the second semifinal, stopping the clock about three-tenths ahead of Kate Douglass‘ time from the first semifinal. The two swimmers–the world record holder and defending Olympic champion–have distanced themselves from the rest of the field, setting up a thrilling race for gold.
The women’s 200 breaststroke is another European-heavy final. It doesn’t quite match the 7/8 finalists in the men’s 50 butterfly, but there are still six European swimmers chasing medals. Kotryna Teterevkova (2:22.98), Angharad Evans (2:23.32), Alina Zmushka (2:23.33), Ellie McCartney (2:23.79), and Clara Rybak-Andersen (2:24.10) are the other European swimmers joining Chikunova in the final.
Continental and National Records
Women’s 100 Freestyle
After helping the NAB mixed 4×100 medley relay win gold in a championship record time yesterday, Daria Klepikova lowered her 100 freestyle Russian record. Klepikova swam 53.14, dropping .22 seconds from the former record (53.36) she set at the Russian Cup in July 2024.Men’s 200 Breaststroke
Carles Coll Marti took down the super-suited men’s 200 breaststroke record during the event semifinals. Coll Marti was the surprise world champion in this short-course edition of this race at the 2024 Short Course World Championships. He swam 2:08.49 in tonight’s semifinals, getting under Melquíades Álvarez‘s 2:09.69 from the 2009 Mediterranean Games by 1.20 seconds.Continental Medal Table Thru Day 5
Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total Germany 2 1 1 4 France 2 0 1 3 Romania 2 0 0 2 Italy 1 4 1 6 Belgium 0 1 0 1 Poland 0 1 0 1 Switzerland 0 1 0 1 Hungary 0 0 1 1 Netherlands 0 0 1 1Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 Worlds, Euro Recap: Popovici Earns 100/200 Free Double Gold After Nearly Not Swimming
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