2022 Swammy Awards: European Male Swimmer of the Year – David Popovici

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2022 EUROPEAN MALE SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: David Popovici, Romania

Could it really be anyone other than David Popovici? The Romanian teenager was one of the most electric racers of the year, which is why there was no doubt in our minds that the 2022 Swammy Award for European Male Swimmer of the Year belonged to him.

Coming off the belated Olympic year, it was hard to expect much from a cobbled-together World Championships where the main storyline pre-meet concerned how many big stars weren’t going to attend. The then-17-year-old Romanian showed up though, and lit up the pool in a big way.

He won both the 100 and 200 freestyles, leading the field in every round of both races. His best swim in the 100 free came in the semifinals, when he fired off a 47.13 for a new world junior record. In the 200 free, he posted a world junior record of 1:44.40 in the semifinals, then lowered that to 1:43.21 in the final. At the time, that was the fourth-fastest performance all-time, and the fastest anyone had swum since 2012.

After a strong showing at the Tokyo Olympics which included a fourth place finish in the 200 free, we had Popovici marked as one of six rising stars to watch in Paris. In Budapest, he announced himself much earlier than we expected — but he was far from finished.

Popovici saved his best for the European Championships in Rome. In the semifinals of the 100 free, he had everyone on the edge of their seats as he became just the fourth swimmer in history to break the 47 second barrier. His 46.86 was so exciting not just because of how close he got to the world record, but because of his splits: 22.93 on the way out, and a blistering 24.05 coming home.

Given that he’d done his best swim at Worlds during the semifinals, there was lots of discussion about whether Popovici would be able to match his speed in the final. Many also wondered if he would get bounced around too much by his bigger competitors. The teen quickly silenced all concerns. He tore to a new world record of 46.96, breaking Cesar Cielo‘s super-suited world record in the same lane Cielo had swum in 12 years earlier.

Listen to the crowd as David Popovici comes down the home stretch en route to his new WR of 46.86 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/psN0NDdldP

— SwimSwam Live (@SwimSwamLive) August 13, 2022

Popovici followed up his world record in the 100 free by improving his 200 free world junior record. He won in 1:42.97, moving to #3 all-time as just the third swimmer to break 1:43. In addition to competing at the senior international level, Popovici also competed at both European and World Juniors, racking up seven gold medals between the two meets.

At the end of the long course season, Popovici owned eight of the 10 fastest 100 free performances in 2022. He’s also the only swimmer to go sub-47 in the 100 freestyle more than once.

He’s not the only European male swimmer to break a world record this season, but Popovici earned this award by being one of the most exciting swimmers of the year. Every time he dove in the pool, no matter what meet he was at, it felt like something special was about to happen. He broke a super-suited world record — one of the oldest on the books. And he’s one of the swimmers lighting up the 200 freestyle, reinvigorating a race that’s been stagnant for the last decade.

Honorable Mentions

• Leon Marchand, France – After an electric 2022 NCAAs, the big question surrounding Marchand was how well his ASU training would translate to the big pool. Marchand left no room for doubt at Worlds. On the first night of competition, the Frenchman took a run at Michael Phelps‘ last standing individual world record, throwing down a blistering 4:04.28 for the second fastest performance all-time. He followed that up with two more medals, winning gold in the 200 IM (1:55.22) and silver in the 200 butterfly (1:53.37), establishing new national records in both. For his accomplishments, he was named the male swimmer of the meet. He didn’t compete at European Championships, but is back at ASU already posting speedy times for the middle of the season.
• Thomas Ceccon, Italy – The 21-year-old shocked the world in Budapest, demolishing the men’s 100 backstroke world record with a 51.60 to win gold. He also led off the men’s 4×100 medley relay with another sub-52 effort (51.93), helping Italy upset the U.S. for gold and tie the European record. At both Worlds and European Championships, he put his versatility on display, setting national records in the 50 back and 50 fly. In Rome, he won both the 50 fly and the 100 back, along with picking up a silver in the 50 back. He continued to showcase his versatility throughout the FINA World Cup, culminating in a short course world title in the 100 IM. Throughout the year, he established himself as a medal threat in a multitude of events and a key part of the Italian men’s surging relays.
• Kristof Milak, Hungary – The highlight of Milak’s season was resetting his 200 butterfly world record in front of a home crowd at the Budapest World Championships. He dominated that race, winning by over three seconds. In the 100 butterfly, he picked up another gold, again winning by a wide margin (.80 seconds). At Euros, he won the same two events but also showed off his freestyle speed. He picked up silver in the 100 free with a new national record of 47.47, and anchored Hungary’s gold medal 4×200 free relay with a sizzling 1:44.42 split. He’s been untouchable in the 200 fly for a while now, but 2022 was the year he showed decisively that he’s more than just a butterfly specialist.

Previous Winners:

• 2021 Swammy – Evgeny Rylov, Russia
• 2020 Swammy – Ilya Shymanovich, Belarus
• 2019 Swammy – Adam Peaty, Great Britain
• 2018 Swammy – Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia
• 2017 Swammy – Adam Peaty, Great Britain
• 2016 Swammy – Adam Peaty, Great Britain
• 2015 Swammy – Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy
• 2014 Swammy – Florent Manaudou, France
• 2013 Swammy – Vladimir Morozov, Russia