By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
2025 LEN U23 European Championships
Thursday, June 26 – Saturday, June 28 X-bionic® sphere Pool, Šamorín, Slovakia LCM (50m) Start Times – Local: Prelims – 9:30 am / Finals – 6:00 pm Start Times – EST: Prelims – 3:30 am / Finals – 12:00 pm Meet Central Psych Sheets Live Results Livestream (Pay-To-Watch) Recaps: Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3On the final night of the 2025 LEN U23 Championships, Romanian David Popovici unleashed a scorching 46.71 to win the men’s 100 freestyle. This swim not only set a new European record but also stands as the fastest time in the world this year and the second-fastest swim of all time.
Updated Top 5 Performers All-Time:
Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 46.40 (2024) David Popovici (ROU) – 46.71 (2025)* Cesar Cielo (BRA) – 46.91 (2009) Alain Bernard (FRA) – 46.94 (2009) Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 46.96 (2019)The 20-year-old Popovici, who previously held the world record with a best time of 46.86 from the 2022 World Championships, saw his record broken last summer at the Paris Olympics. There, he settled for bronze behind Pan Zhanle, who shattered the world record with a 46.40, and the ever-consistent Kyle Chalmers.
With tonight’s swim, Popovici has now broken 47 seconds on four separate occasions—the most in history—breaking his previous tie of three with Pan. This 46.71 marks the second-fastest time ever recorded in the event, trailing only Pan’s world record from Paris. A full list of the top performances appears below.
Updated Top 20 All-Time Performances:
Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 46.40 (2024) David Popovici (ROU) — 46.71 (2025)* Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 46.80 (2024) David Popovici (ROU) – 46.86 (2022) David Popovici (ROU) – 46.88 (2024) Cesar Cielo (BRA) – 46.91 (2009) Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 46.92 (2024) Alain Bernard (FRA) – 46.94 (2009) Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 46.96 (2019) Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 46.97 (2023) Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 46.97 (2024) David Popovici (ROU) – 46.98 (2022) Jack Alexy (USA) — 46.99 (2025) Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 47.02 (2021) Cameron McEvoy (AUS) – 47.04 (2016) Eamon Sullivan (AUS) – 47.05 (2008) Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 47.06 (2023) David Popovici (ROU) – 47.07 (2022) Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – 47.08 (2019) Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – 47.08 (2021)Another standout from tonight’s race was Popovici’s back-half speed of 23.98, making him the first man in history to close the final 50 meters in under 24. He previously held the two fastest back halves at 24.05 and 24.09 from the 2022 and 2024 European Championships, respectively. See the list of the fastest back-half splits below.
Fastest Back-Half Splits of All Time:
David Popovici (ROU), 23.98 — 2025 LEN U23 Championships David Popovici (ROU), 24.05 — 2022 European Championships David Popovici (ROU), 24.09 — 2024 European Championships Andrei Minakov (RUS), 24.11 — 2021 Russian Nationals David Popovici (ROU) / Pan Zhanle, 24.12 — 2022 European Championships / 2024 Olympic GamesSplits Comparison, Top Five Men’s 100 Freestyle Swims:
Pan Zhanle – 2024 Olympic Games Pan Zhanle – 2024 World Championships David Popovici – 2022 European Championships David Popovici — 2024 European Championships David Popovici — 2025 European U23 Championships 50 22.28 22.26 22.74 22.79 22.73 100 46.40 (24.12) 46.80 (24.54) 46.86 (24.12) 46.88 (24.09) 46.71 (23.98)Popovici is coming off a resurgent 2024 that saw him nearly recreate the earth-shattering swims he produced at the 2022 European Championships and win the first two Olympic medals of his career. After breaking the world record in the 100 free (46.86) and becoming the third swimmer ever (first textile) sub-1:43 in the 200 free (1:42.97) in 2022, Popovici missed the podium at the 2023 World Championships, but he came back with a vengeance since then.
At the European Championships last June, Popovici won double gold with the aforementioned 46.88 in the 100 free and 1:43.13 in the 200 free, which ranked him #2 and #1 in the world last year, respectively. One month later at the Olympics, the Romanian won gold in the 200 free (1:44.72) and earned bronze in the 100 free (47.49), and while he wasn’t able to hit his times from earlier in the year, it was still a strong showing under pressure.
It still feels like Popovici is only scratching the surface of his potential, and heading into 2025, he has to be considered the World Championship favorite in the 200 free, as his 1:43.13 time was the fastest in the world last year by more than a second, and he currently leads the world rankings this season at 1:43.64.
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