The Vortex – David Popovici Makes It 9 Career 47s Over 100 Free & Gold No4 At Home European Juniors As Brits Finish Meet On A High
The Vortex is SOS’ weekly digest and soak of swimnews, views and links to big events such as European Junior Championships and notable coverage of swimming elsewhere when time allows. After covering the World Championships in Budapest, Craig Lord has returned to a writing retreat and break from usual coverage in 2022, barring focus on the European Championships in Rome come August and any big news along the way. The Vortex will soak up the best of the rest in short form.
In this week’s Vortex:
- David Popovici clocks career 9th 47sec 100m free for Gold No 4 at home Euro Juniors
- EJC: Lorenzo Galossi and Italy celebrate two golds on Day 5 at Euro Juniors
- EJC: David Popovici takes gold number 3 at Euro Juniors
- EJC: Vlad-Stefan Stancu Adds To Romanian Rise With 15:05 Gold Over 30 Laps
- Kayla Sanchez Makes Switch From Canada To Philippines
- EJC: David Popovici Takes Tally To 2 Gold & 1 Silver On Day 2 At European Juniors (1:45 200 free; 47.34 100m relay split) As Poland Cheers Chmielewski Twins
- Triathlon Becomes First British Sport To Create Open category for Trans Athletes In Move To Protect Women’s Category For Females Over 12
- European Junior Championships, Day 1: David Popovici Takes Gold No 1 With Romanian Mates – 100 free lead-off: 47.54
Sunday, July 11
David Popovici, 17, is just half-way through a spectacular 2022 season that will bring his junior years to a close and has already amassed two World senior crowns and four European Junior titles, the last of which he delivered in 47.69sec for 100m freestyle gold as the home meet came to a close in Otopeni, Bucharest, Romania.
With relay splits of 47.34 (which delivered silver for Romania in the Mixed 4x100m freestyle, and one of five medals for Popovici) and 47.54 and today a 47.69 for the solo 100m free crown a second ahead of the silver claimed by Britain’s Jacob Whittle, the World 100 and 200m freestyle champion now has nine 47s top his name as a 16 and 17 years-old. Phenomenal… context and the journey:
Top of the tree for Popovici in the 100m is the sensational 47.13 he clocked in semi-finals on the way to the World title in Budapest last month. In the 200m free in Budapest, the crown was his in 1:43.21, second swiftest ever in textile just 0.07sec adrift Yannick Agnel at his soaring best for London 2012 Olympic gold.
Of the three swimmers most likely, as things stand, to take down the 46.91 shiny suits World record that has stood to Cesar Cielo since 2009, Popovici is the junior about to turn full senior with world titles in a pantheon of spectacular promise as the sprinter travels a trajectory that makes 47s workaday, 46s the next wave of ‘extraordinary normal’ for any with an eye on Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
Popovici’s 9×47, to July 11, 2022 (atop the best 18 Romanian 100m frees he now owns):
- 47.13 Budapest – World Championships, 2022 Semi-final
- 47.30 Rome – European Junior Swimming Championships 2021 Gold
- 47.34 Otopeni – European Junior Swimming Championships 2022 M4x100 Relay lead (gold)
- 47.54 Otopeni – European Junior Swimming Championships 2022 Mixed4x100 Relay lead (silver)
- 47.56 Rome – European Junior Swimming Championships Relay 2021 lead
- 47.58 Budapest – Budapest – World Championships 2022 – Gold
- 47.60 Budapest – World Championships, 2022 Heats
- 47.69 Otopeni – European Junior Swimming Championships 2022 – 100m free Gold
- 47.72 Tokyo – Olympic Games, 2021, semi-final
In the 200m freestyle in Budapest last month. Otopeni, Popovici led from go to gold through splits of 24.25, 50.74, 1:18.32, his 1:45.45 (last lap 27.13) leaving him the only 900-points plus swimmer, 2.26sec clear of Italian 16-year-old Lorenzo Galossi, who passed Britain’s Jacob Whittle on the homecoming length for silver and bronze to be settled in 1:47.71 and 1:47.85.
Today, Popovici, on his way to the sprint freestyle treble after wins in the 200m and the 50m earlier in the meet, was out in 23.06, home in 24.63, Whittle with him at the turn, on 23.18 before feeling the Romanian’s heat on the way home to silver with a 25.47 split that was the second-best home comer and the only other in the race inside 26 to the end wall. The bronze went to Nikolas Antoniou, of Cyprus, in 49.67, with Whittle’s teammate Alexander Painter on 50.38 for fourth.
Whittle’s was one of four medals, topped by two golds, for Britain on a fine curtain-closing day for the visitors. If Popovici topped the chart for those who claimed titles at speeds worthy of 900-points plus, then closest to him was Polish 17-year-old Ksawery Masiuk, who blasted a championship record of 52.91 for gold in the 100m backstroke after having taken down the meet mark with a 53.11 in semis yesterday.
Out in 25.41, home in 27.50, Masiuk dominated the final, the podium completed by Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zheltyakov in 54.26, and Britain’s Jonathon Marshall, on 54.42.
Those would be the first of two medals for all three 100 back podium placers, Marshall taking gold with Britain mates in the 4x100m medley relay ahead of quartets from Ukraine and Poland led, respectively, by Zheltyakov and Masiuk, who clocked 53.28 leading the Poles to bronze.
Marshall (54.54) was followed by Elliot Woodburn (1:00.99) on breaststroke, Evan Jones (53.97) on butterfly and Whittle (47.94) on freestyle for British gold in 3:37.44 ahead of 3:38.02 for Ukraine and 3:38.89 for Poland.
The British boys had already celebrated gold in the last session of the meet, when their teammate Leah Schlosshan, 17, took the 200m medley crown in 2:13.49 (29.06, 1:04.48, 1:41.59, 31.90) ahead of Hungary’s Lilla Minna Abraham, 2:14.28, and Spain’s 400IM winner Emma Carrasco, on 2:14.39.
In the 400m freestyle, Italy’s Lorenzo Galossi added to his 800m victory of yesterday with a 3:48.14 triumph built as pace-setter at the helm of battle from block to golden double.
Two others who have celebrated gold in Otopeni this week followed Galossi on to the podium: Poland’s Krzysztof Chmielewski, who claimed the 200m butterfly crown with his twin Michal the second man home for a national-team 1-2, clocked 3:50.61 for silver, the bronze to Romanian 1500m champion this week, Vlad-Stefan Stancu, in 3:50.61.
There were also last-session wins for Hungary’s Dora Molnar, on 1:00.88 in the 100m backstroke, 0.02sec ahead of Belgium’s Roos Van Otterdijk; Merve Tuncel, who retained the 400m freestyle title for Turkey in a dominant 4:07.30; Ukraine’s Volodymyr Lisovets, on 1:00.96 in the 100m breaststroke a reach ahead of Dutch mates Koen de Groet and Steijn Louter; Estonia’s Eneli Jefimova in a dominant 1:06.50 in the 100m breaststroke, an effort that made her a. Member of the 900-plus club; and, in the 50m butterfly finals, Lana Pudar, of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 26.49, and Casper Puggaard, of Denmark, on 23.67.
The meet came to a close with the medley relays, Britain’s win in the men’s preceded by France’s victory in a close battle among the girls, Mary-Ambre Moluh (1:01.78), Justine Delmas (1:08.41), Tabatha Avetand (59.95) and Giulia Rossi-Bene (55.19) combining for a 4:05.33 win ahead of quartets from Hungary, 4:05.48, and Italy, 4:05.70.
Saturday, July 10
Lorenzo Galossi & Italy Celebrate Two Golds On Day 5 At European Juniors
Lorenzo Galossi, who turned 16 in May, and Italy celebrated a brace of gold medals on the fifth day of action at the European Junior Championships in Romania, victory in the 800m freestyle in 7:52.04 followed by 1:48.76 split that granted the aquatic Azzurri the 4x200m free title in a 7:17.45.
The 800m free final produced the race of the day, Galossi getting the better of the top two in the 1500m earlier in the week, Romania’s Vlad-Stefan Stancu, and Polish silver medallist in the 30-lap battle Krzysztof Chmielewski, whose twin brother Michal punched a Polish 1-2 in the 200m butterfly at the championships in Otopeni, Bucharest.
Galossi turned second to Chmielewski at the 400m mark in 3:53.26 before taking the helm of the race and leading all the way home to victory ahead of Stancu and Chmielewski, on 7:54.02 and 7:56.81 for silver and bronze respectively.
Galossi was back in for a second gold later in the penultimate session of finals at the championships. Alessandro Ragaini (1:50.06), Filippo Bertoni (1:48.25), both 16, and Massimo Chiaroni (1:50.38), 18, handed over to Galossi, whose 1:48.76 sealed the 4x200m crown in 7:17.45 ahead of quartets from Turkey, on 7:20.99, and Poland, 7:21.33, Britain locked out in 7:22.37.
In other action, there were titles for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Lana Pudar, who dominated the 200m butterfly in 2:08.92, and Turkey’s Merve Tuncel, who retained the 800m freestyle crown in 8:28.32.
In the semis of the 100m freestyle, David Popovici, the 100-200m freestyle World champion for Romania in Budapest last month, clocked 48.31 for a ticket to lane 4 in the showdown, Britain’s Jacob Whittle closest going through, on 48.68.
Friday, July 8
Gold No 3 For David Popovici With 22.16 Dash At European Juniors
Romania’s David Popovici claimed gold No 3 at the European Junior Championships in Otopeni, Bucharest, with as dominant 22.16 win in the 50m freestyle. His other golds came in the 200m freestyle and the men’s 4x100m freestyle, while the mixed 4x100m freestyle produced silver for the double sprint freestyle World champion in action with mates.
Thursday July 7
Stancu Adds To Romanian Rise With 15:05 Gold Over 30 Laps At Home European Juniors
Romania is not only looking to David Popovici to lift its game in the pool come the big occasion, as Vlad-Stefan Stancu showed with a 15:05.57 victory over 1500m freestyle for the hosts on day 3 of the European Junior Championships in Otopeni.
Stancu’s finish included a 27sec bolt-from-the-blue lap that left a gap of fingernails with 200m to go looking like a parting sea a length later – and an 8sec ocean by the end wall.
Most of the 30-length battle was neck-and-neck, stroke-for-stroke with Polish winner of the 200m butterfly yesterday, Krzysztof Chmielewski, who had the edge at every turn to the 1,000m mark, where he timed in second to Stancu for the first time in the race before regaining the upper fingertip for the next three lengths. At the 1200m mark, Stancu and Chmielewski turned precisely at the same time, feet on the wall at 12:08.01. At 1300m, the gap was still only 0.19sec, Stancu with the edge but about to rocket away.
Just one length later, by the time Stancu flipped for a 13:38.05 split with three lengths to go, he was almost 3sec clear of his shadow, after crushing the visiting contender with a 27.80 split, to the Pole’s 30.62.
The game was up, gold in the bag: Stancu then raced all remaining lengths inside 30sec for his 15:05 victory, Chmielewski hanging on for silver in 15:13.46 as Turkish 15-year-old Emir Albayrak fought to catch him on the way to bronze in 15:15.24.
The home crown had more to cheer about when Bianca Costea made the podium in the 50m freestyle 0.12sec behind the new champion, Nina Jazy, of Germany, 25.22 to 25.34, the bronze to Sara Curtis of Italy in 25.39.
In other action, there were titles for Yigit Oktar, of Turkey, on 2:00.68 for a winning margin of 1.97sec in the 200m medley, and Hungary, whose dominant win in the 4x200m freestyle granted Nikoletta Padar a third gold in as many days. Padar delivered gold after Lilla Minna Abraham (1:59.42), Dora Molnar (2:00.55) and Lili Gyurinovics (2:01.78) gave her a lead she capitalised on with a 1:57.29 split. Italy took silver and Britain the bronze.
Popovici, meanwhile, took lane 4 for the final of the 50m free tomorrow in 22.17.
Kayla Sanchez Makes Switch From Canada To Philippines
Kayla Sanchez, Olympic relay medallist for Canada, will represent the Philippines in future after being released to do so by the country for which she has raced in international waters since 2017
The move came after the World Championships came to a close in Budapest. Sanchez, 21, was born in Singapore to Filipino parents and says she feels a strong connection to her family history and wanted to inspire young Filipinos to take up swimming. Swimming Canada did not hesitate when Sanchez’s mind was made up: athlete wishes and interest came first.
Sanchez will now look for support from her new country of sport as she loses access to the support she has received from the Canadian system. Through Swimming Canada, Sanchez said:
“I’ve always been really proud of my Filipino heritage. Aside from how much I’ve grown and how good everything has been in Canada, I needed to make this really difficult decision for myself and my family to take this opportunity to represent the Philippines. I want to help inspire people that are like me to swim and get into the sport.”
Kayla Sanchez – Photo – Kayla Sanchez speeds to victory in the 100m free in Victoria, by Kevin Light, courtesy of Swimming Canada
“Kayla has been a great team member, centre member and swimmer for Canada and we will miss her,” said Canada’s High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson. “She brought such a positive energy to our teams, as well as great swimming. Our loss will be the Philippines’ gain, but we support her in this transition as it is the direction she wishes to follow for personal and family reasons. We sincerely wish her nothing but the best in her future swimming.”
For her part, Sanchez thanked Canada: “I am so thankful and appreciative of Canada. I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today without the support and how much I grew and learned. It’s just a point in my life where it’s time for a change. I am stepping into a new point in my swim career where I can start to focus on myself and at the same time I’m hoping to help people in the Philippines.”
Wednesday, July 6
Popovici Takes Tally To 2 Gold & 1 Silver On Day 2 At European Juniors As Poland Cheers Chmielewski Twins
David Popovici, the 17-year-old double World Champion from Romania, took his tally of medals to two gold and a silver on the second day of racing at a home European Junior Championships in Otopeni in a session that saw Polish twins Krzysztof and Michal Chmielewski take gold and silver in the 200m butterfly.
The European junior 4x100m free title with his male teammates in the vault yesterday (see below in this Vortex file), the World 100 and 200m freestyle champion, added the 200m title in a dominant 1:45.45 (compared to his senior global title debut in a stunning 1:43.21, second-fastest ever in textile after Yannick Agnel, the London 2012 Olympic champion from France) before leading his nation’s mixed 4x100m free relay off to a storming 47.34 start, a speed that contributed to second place 0.52sec behind a quarter from Hungary.
That 47.34 in the relay made it eight sub-48s for Popovici since he turned 16 last year. Of the three swimmers most likely, as things stand, to take down the 46.91 shiny suits World record that has stood to Cesar Cielo since 2009, Popovici is the junior about to turn full senior with world titles in a pantheon of spectacular promise as the sprinter travels a trajectory that makes 47s workaday, 46s the next wave of ‘extraordinary normal’ for any with an eye on Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
Popovici’s Eight 47s, to July 6, 2022 (atop the best 15 Romanian 100m frees he now owns):
- 47.13 Budapest – World Championships, 2022 Semi-final
- 47.30 Rome – European Junior Swimming Championships 2021 Gold
- 47.34 Otopeni – European Junior Swimming Championships 2022 M4x100 Relay lead (gold)
- 47.54 Otopeni – European Junior Swimming Championships 2022 Mixed4x100 Relay lead (silver)
- 47.56 Rome – European Junior Swimming Championships Relay 2021 lead
- 47.58 Budapest – Budapest – World Championships 2022 – Gold
- 47.60 Budapest – World Championships, 2022 Heats
- 47.72 Tokyo – Olympic Games, 2021, semi-final
- The unseen part of the seen trajectory: David Popovici Paris Bound With A Touch Of Thorpey, A Hint Of Hoogie, A Pinch Of Phelps In His Preparation & Process
In the 200m freestyle, Popovici led from go to gold through splits of 24.25, 50.74, 1:18.32, his 1:45.45 (last lap 27.13) leaving him the only 900-points plus swimmer, 2.26sec clear of Italian 16-year-old Lorenzo Galossi, who passed Britain’s Jacob Whittle on the homecoming length for silver and bronze to be settled in 1:47.71 and 1:47.85.
The European junior championships mark the second of four targets for Popovici this summer, Budapest World titles last month and the home junior event to be followed by European senior Championships and World Junior Championships before the Romanian leaves his youth years behind him two years out from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The other highlight of day 2 was the men’s 200m butterfly in which Polish twins Krzysztof and Michal Chmielewski, both 18 on the 8th of last month, battled to gold and silver well ahead of the curve through these splits:
- 26.36; 56.19; 1:25.74; 1:55.49 (29.75) Krzysztof
- 26.63; 56.61; 1:26.50; 1:56.68 (30.18) Michal
Other European junior title winners on day 2:
W200m freestyle – Nikoletta Padar (HUN) 1:58.43
W50m backstroke – Mary-Ambre Moluh (FRA) 27.74 CR
M50m backstroke – Ksawery Masiuk (POL) 24.65
W50m breaststroke – Eneli Jefimova (EST) 30.44
M50m breaststroke – Volodymyr Lisovets (UKR) 27.62
W1500m freestyle – Merve Tuncel (TUR( 16:13.68
4x100m freestyle mixed – Hungary: Boldizsar Magda 50.53; Benedek Bona 49.53; Nikoletta Padar 54.28; Dora Molnar 54.49 – 3:28.83
Triathlon Becomes First British Sport To Create Open category for Trans Athletes In Move To Protect Women’s Category For Females Over 12
Triathlon has become the first British sport to establish a new ‘open’ category in which transgender athletes will compete in the age of FINA’s trend-setting ‘gold-standard’ policy revealed in Budapest last month.
As other sports get set to follow the aquatics rules, the British Triathlon Federation confirmed that for athletes over the age of 12, competitive women’s events will be reserved “for those who are female sex at birth”.
The policy, starting January 2023, will introduce an ‘open’ category “for all individuals including male, [male and female] transgender and those non-binary who were male sex at birth.”
It will apply to all events where there are prizes, times or rankings at stake, including at the grassroots level of the sport.
“Where this is competitive activity, fairness is paramount,” said Andy Salmon, chief executive of British Triathlon. “Our sport is gender-affected. We believe this is the right policy for triathlon in Great Britain, and the right time to publish it. We have taken legal advice and are confident it’s legally robust.”
British Triathlon said the new approach followed a survey of more than 3,000 members that found 80% were in support of the two categories. Triathlon’s new policy replaces the existing guidelines of 2018, which allowed trans women to compete against female athletes if they had suppressed their testosterone.
Tuesday, July 5
European Junior Championships, Day 1
Popovici Takes Gold No 1 With Romanian Mates As Home European Junior Championships Get Underway
David Popovici, the Romanian 17-year-old who claimed World titles over 100 and 200m freestyle in Budapest last month, got his home European Junior Swimming Championships campaign off to a speedy start in Otopeni with a 47.54 opener in the 4x100m freestyle that led his country to gold in the 4x100m freestyle 0.08sec ahead of a British quartet.
Popovici’s 47.54 was 0.04sec swifter than his winning effort in Budapest, though shy of the sizzling 47.13 World Junior record he set in semis at World titles in Hungary. The splits compared:
- 22.81; 24.32 – 47.13 World Championships semi-final
- 23.35; 24.19 – 47.54 European Junior Championships lead 4x100m freestyle final
The mid-47s have become a habit for Popovici, who clocked 47.56 leading Romanian to silver a year ago at the same European junior event in Rome. Then, Russians took the gold. There are no Russians in Otopeni, courtesy of Putin’s bloody war on Ukraine. This year, Britain provided the closest threat, with Germany taking the bronze:
The Podium Fight:
- Romania: David Popovici (47.54), Vlad Stancu (51.11), Stefan Kozma (50.56), Patrick Dinu (49.72) – 3:18.93
- Great Britain: Jacob Whittle (48.69), Alexander Painter (49.91), Evan Jones (49.80) Reuben Rowbotham-Keating (50.61) – 3:19.01
- Italy: Lorenzo Galossi (50.08), Elia Codardini (49.96), Davide Passafaro (49.89), Francesco Lazzari (49.49) – 3:19.42
After collecting gold No 1 with mates, Popovici said: “I think this was a great performance from this relay, and it was fantastic to swim in front of so many people in this pool. My 47.5 looks nice I think, especially after a 200m free. I’m glad that the boys did their best and we could win at the end.”
Day 1 also delivered titles for Spain’s Emma Carrasco in the 400m medley and Italy in the women’s 4x100m freestyle.