By Retta Race on SwimSwam
2026 ROMANIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Wednesday, April 22nd – Sunday, April 26th Otopeni, Romania LCM (50m) Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/ Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap/Day 5 Recap Live ResultsThe 2026 Romanian National Championships wrapped up over the weekend, but not before 21-year-old Olympic champion David Popovici made his mark across multiple events.
The freestyle ace raced on all of the five days, with each result stirring up glimpses into the form the Romanian is in with this year’s European Championships on the horizon.
Before we outline Popovici’s results from this competition, take a look at his enthusiastic post on Instagram, where he said, “Haven’t said or felt this in a long time but…big things are coming. I’m back, baby.”
Multiple fellow Olympic speedsters responded with their reactions, including newly minted 50m freestyle world record holder Cameron McEvoy who replied with a fun graphic.
His Aussie Olympic teammate Kyle Chalmers commented, “When did you leave??” to which Popovici replied, “Never left, but inertia was leading the way. Not anymore.”
British Olympic multi-medalist James Guy was another respondent, as you can see in the comments below.
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Recap of Popovici’s 2026 Romanian National Championship Performances
Day One – 50m Freestyle
Popovici posted a solid morning 50m freestyle outing of 22.11 to capture the top seed out of the heats before slicing off another .09 to check in with a gold medal-worthy effort of 22.02 in the main event.
His time tied his 3rd-best ever performance, with his resume boasting a lifetime best of 21.83 from taking the title at last year’s edition of these championships. He now ranks just outside the list of top 25 performers worldwide on the season.
David Popovici‘s Top 5 LCM 50 Freestyle Performances
21.83 – April 2025 21.86 – June 2025 22.02 – June 2025 & April 2026 – 22.14 April 2025Day Two – 200m Freestyle
The reigning Olympic champion tried his signature 200m freestyle on for size, reaping gold successfully in a swift time of 1:45.89.
The speedster split 24.19/26.64 (50.83)/27.68/27.38 to get the job done, ranking him just outside the list of top ten performers worldwide on the season.
Popovici’s lifetime best in this 2free event remains at the otherworldly 1:42.97 he put on the books en route to gold at the 2022 European Championships to become the 3rd-fastest performer of all time. He earned gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in a mark of 1:44.72.
Day Three – 4x100m Freestyle Relay
Popovici anchored his Clubul Sportiv Dinamo Bucuresti’s men’s 4x100m free relay in a monster 46.97, by far the fastest of any leg on any squad.
According to the results, Popovici opened in 22.46 and closed in 24.51 to help his squad grab the gold decisively, establishing a new Romanian national record of 3:18.19 in the process.
Day Four – 100m Freestyle
He picked up his 3rd individual event win of the meet in the 100 freestyle, the final event of day four’s session. Popovici stopped the clock in 47.52, coming in half a second ahead of silver medalist Patrick Dinu‘s 48.01.
This swim was about a second off his lifetime best in the event of 46.51, which he swam at the World Championships in Singapore. He was also about two tenths off the 47.30 he swam at last year’s meet.
Popovici’s swim is tied for the 4th fastest time in the world this season with Brooks Curry‘s swim at the Malmsten Swim Open in Stockholm. American Chris Guiliano currently holds the top time at 47.38, a little more than a tenth ahead.
Day Five – Mixed Medley Relay
On the final day, Popovici took on the fly leg of his squad’s mixed medley relay, where he delivered a spicy split of 51.36.
That included a 23.57 opener and a 27.79 on the back half.
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