Romania may have found its running mate for their star David Popovici on day 1 of the European U23 Championships in Slovakia. Denis-Laurean Popescu qualified first to finals in the men’s 100 fly, in the process breaking Popovici’s Romanian Record in the event.
Popescu swam 51.49 to qualify ahead of Portuguese star Diogo Ribeiro (52.11 – from a different heat); in the process, Popescu broke Popovici’s old Romanian Record of 52.30 done in April 2023.
The time marks almost a full second drop from Popescu’s previous personal best of 52.32 that he swam at the 2024 European Championships in Serbia.
Splits Comparison:
Denis-Laurean Popescu
Denis-Laurean Popescu
David Popovici
Previous Personal Best
New Romanian Record
50m
24.51
23.98
24.34
100m
27.81
27.51
27.96
Total Time
52.32
51.49
52.3
Popescu, who turns 22 on July 17, gives Romania another piece of a possible medley relay. The current Romanian Record of 3:37.57 from the 2009 World Championships is overdue to be broken. Popescu is also currently the country’s top 100 backstroker.
His countrymate Popovici made it a banner opening session for the Romanians, qualifying first in the 200 free in 1:46.84. Popovici, who has shown less fear to race at these secondary international championships than many swimmers of his caliber, broke his first World Record in the 100 free swimming outdoors – an omen for a week ahead in Slovakia.
Petar Mitsin of Bulgaria qualified 2nd in 1:46.99. They were followed by a pair of 2025 revelations: Jarno Baschnitt, whose 1:47.38 was just a few tenths off his best time from the German Championships in May; and Evan Bailey, whose 1:47.48 was also just off his best time from the Irish Championships in April. Both are only 19 years old.
Other Day 1 Prelims Highlights:
Estonia’s Eneli Jefimova led the field in the women’s 50 breast heats with a 30.52, finishing ahead of Norway’s Silje Slyngstadli (30.90). Lithuania’s Kotryna Tetervkova qualified 3rd in 31.42. Jefimova is expected to be one of the stars of this week’s racing.
France’s Alexandre Desangles, 20, led the heats of the men’s 200 back in 2:00.55. He entered the meet with a best time of 1:58.30 from last week’s French National Championship meet. His countrymate Merlin Ficher was just behind in 2:00.60.
Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium led the heats of the women’s 100 fly in 57.94, marking the ninth sub-58 swim of her career. The Olympic semifinalist swam a Belgian Record of 57.05 in April and is slated to swim at the World Championships later this year. She also qualified 1st in the 50 back in 28.31.
Luka Mladenovic of Austria qualified first in the men’s 50 breaststroke with a time of 27.07 ahead of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Lisovets (27.41). That time for Mladenovic is a new personal best (by .05) and just .13 seconds shy of Bernard Reisthammer’s Austrian Record. Mladenovic is committed to swim in the United States at the University of Michigan in the fall.