Article by Luminița Paul – Published Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 3:46 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 3:47 p.m.
David Popovici (21 years old), double world champion in 2025 in the 100 m and 200 m freestyle events, went through the sensations he experienced last season for the Olympics, including the special episode of extreme fear experienced in Singapore, before the start of the WC competitions.
“Even the best in the world get scared“, notes the material dedicated to David Popovici on the Olympics website. The reference is to what the multiple world, European and Olympic champion experienced before the start of the World Championships in Singapore 2025. He dissected and explained the sensations experienced then, although he still does not fully understand what happened.
He added that he sees them as a prerequisite to reaching his potential. “Being afraid is part of life. In fact, it is something necessary“, David said to the cited source, repeating what he had revealed in an extensive interview in GSP on the occasion of his designation as Sportsman of the Year in the traditional survey.
“You can't have glory or success and be happy if you haven't gone through pain and very difficult moments. And when I have moments like that, I know that I can rely, fortunately, on those who support me – that means my family, my girlfriend, my really close friends, my coaches,” he explained.
“When I know that I will be treated the same regardless of the outcome, I can focus on what I have to do. Most of the time it's fine, but if it's not, they're still there, they'll love me just the same“, emphasized David.
- On January 17, at the Swimming Complex in Otopeni, “Sprint with the Stars”, David Popovici's soul project, will take place, which brings together children, but also world swimming stars. It will be the first international edition of this format, which until now has only been held in Great Britain, and the Romanian participated in 2023 and 2025
David Popovici: “It's a very lonely sport”
He also talked about the mental challenges that elite sport entails, some that are more frequent and with specific accents when it comes to swimming. Stars like Caeleb Dressel, Kaylee McKeown or Adam Peaty they felt the need to take breaks in the recent period, and Popovici sympathizes with their feelings.
“I think it's a very lonely sport. It can also be boring because if you look at tennis players – I'm not saying it's easy for them, but they have tournaments every week. We swimmers probably have two, at most three major competitions a year. It's a rare chance to see where we stand in those contests“, he elaborated.
90 percent of the time is spent in the pool, at the gym, or at home, trying to go to bed early, eat right, and have almost zero social life— David Popovich
He confessed that he has a maximum of two minutes of rest per practice, but these difficulties bring satisfaction and are rewarded when you reach the most important races. “I think it's easy to fall into the illusion that it's life and death, as I can feel sometimes“, he added.
David again went through the episode of extreme fear in Singapore, which was related not to a possible failure, but to the fact that he saw in training how good he can be, what potential he has. “The fact that I didn't do the world record this time was a big thing for me. If I had, I would have left Singapore feeling completely empty. I want to still have something to strive for,” he explained.
David Popovici at the start PHOTO Imago Images
In closing, Popovici said that “I don't think the state is doing everything to make sport a national priority. I have always said that sport is the best ambassador of a country“.
4 world titlesand as many Europeans in the Olympic pool, and David Popovici has one Olympic in his record
He also repeated that he would like to train with different athletes, invite Chinese, Australian, American swimmers. “We could meet somewhere, in the middle or prepare in Romania, as I could go to them for a few weeks. I think that would be nice“, concluded David Popovici.
