“This gesture moves me the most”

“It was a long day. There were children who came to take me in their arms, and this excites me. There were many children who came from far away from the country, from Arad, Cluj, Constanța, Brașov, but also Romanians from other countries and foreigners. I think this gesture moves me the most, because I would have done it too if I was little, I would have convinced my parents to see those we idolized at the time,” said David Popovici at the end of a day where he swam, cheered, was available and signed autographs non-stop.

“I can't say anything, it's really cool”, “It's the best experience ever”, “It was my dream to beat him” were just some of the exclamations of those who reached the finals and competed with David Popovici, the Finnish Veera Kivirinta (breaststroke), the British Lauren Cox (back), the Greek Apostolos Christou (back), the German Angelina Köhler (butterfly and freestyle) and the Portuguese Diogo Ribeiro (butterfly). The Belgian Roos Vanotterdijk did not arrive at Otopeni due to an injury.

The seven stars of world swimming showed up at the Otopeni pool in the morning, with generous thoughts towards those who followed. At every meet with lesser swimmers, the champions teleported back to the times when they too were at the beginning. And this was seen in the way they interacted with the little ones. They took them in their arms, raised their hands, congratulated them and encouraged them for every success. There were tears, smiles and much joy.

• “Sprint with the Stars” had the first international edition of this format, which until now only took place in the UK. The concept of this unique competition belongs to Adam Peaty, triple Olympic champion in breaststroke, and Ed Baxter. It is an initiative where beginner swimmers, children, have the opportunity to compete with the best swimmers in the world. The competition is held only in short races of 50 meters in all procedures in six age categories. The fastest 9 competitors in each age group advance from the heats to the finals. There, in the middle lane, swims one of the guest stars, who will follow the rest of the swimmers, leaving with a handicap calculated according to age.

The special event was divided into two sessions. In the morning, the heats and finals took place in the women's and men's backstroke and in the men's and women's butterfly, the stars who entered the pool being the British Lauren Cox and the Greek Apostolos Christou, respectively the German Angelina Köhler (butterfly) and the Portuguese Diogo Ribeiro (butterfly).

In the afternoon session, the heats and finals were held in the breaststroke and freestyle, and the stars who entered the pool were the Finnish Veera Kivirinta and the British Adam Peaty, respectively the German Angelina Köhler and David Popovici.

David Popovici and Adam Peaty on the joy of encouraging the little ones

David Popovici, Adam Peaty and Veera Kivirinta stood by the pool at the others' finals, which took place at lunchtime, clapping with the little ones as they exited the pool.

The first two spoke about this unprecedented experience. “It's interesting because you see that innocent, pure childlike happiness in their eyes. I refer to how I used to think when I was little, that is, I dreamed of such an event. I didn't even think it could be done, nor did such a concept cross my mind. I'm glad it happened to them a few years ago and they invited me. And that we got to collaborate in the meantime. So to see them come out of the pool, whether they won, whether they didn't come out first or among the first places, to see how excited they are, that's everything to me. That's why I do what I do,” said David Popovici.

Adam Peaty added: “I think you have a moment as an athlete where, you know, you can have all these great moments again: the Olympics, the World Championships, the European Championships. There's not a race that I haven't won and there's not a world record that I've set for myself that I haven't beaten. So you have these goals in mind, but really, just like in life, it's not about the big moments, it's about the little moments.

And when you see the faces of those kids and you ask them: «Did you set a personal record?», and some of them answer: «Yes, almost», but that's the energy you feed off, actually. It means a lot to me as a father because I know parents are watching and I think being a parent is one of the most powerful, most incredible things you can be, if you can be. And I think that was my favorite moment: just seeing how much will and determination they have in that pool, knowing that one of these stars is watching them.”

In the evening, David and Adam Peaty entered the pool, the volume increasing in intensity each time the four-time world champion from Romania entered the pool. He won, he was defeated in a day in which he was charged with a lot of positive energy.

“I felt pretty close to a regular competition, I had the same excitement. It's not the same narrowness, but it felt really good. I saw now how much I missed a full-fledged competition. I charged myself positively, I got a lot of good energy from the kids, I hope they liked it, but at the same time I charged myself with a lot of lactic acid, my legs are burning. If I had another final, I don't know if I would finish it,” said David, who swam seven 50-meter sprints.

“My coaches gave me a longer vacation than I accepted, but I really missed swimming, competing at the highest level, because it gives you a special adrenaline. Even these finals, where the stake was not about winning or losing, record or not, and here I felt great. I can't wait for a competition and I have to take it slowly,” said David, then signed other autographs.

Tired, but also with a smile on his face, he took one last picture with those who didn't get to get an autograph, then went to put out the flames in his legs. A smile was plastered on his face for the rest of the evening.

“I am very proud of everyone and I want to thank each individual athlete for being here, for accepting the invitation to swim in Romania” – David Popovich

The messages of the seven stars for little swimmers

• Diogo Ribeiro, double world champion: It's important to believe in who you are and keep thinking about what you can do, what you can achieve and stay true to your goals, but never forgetting your family and those who are always close to you.

• Adam Peaty, triple Olympic champion, eight-time world champion, 16 European gold medals: It has been a long journey for me; we had many good times and many bad times. I think one thing to remember is that actually the best people, not just the best athletes, are made of defeats, not victories, and I think people need to remember that, to remember that it's not about winning. Of course we do all of these. We win Olympic gold medals, world championships, European championships, etc. But really, we do this to become better people, and it's not who you are when you reach first place, it's who you are when there's no one behind you and the lights are out. So I think sport is an incredible medium, as I said, and we want to encourage as many young and old people as possible to play sport.

• David Popovici, Olympic champion, four-time world champion, four-time European champion: Don't take yourself too seriously. If I had to give one piece of advice to kids who want to become fast swimmers or be successful in whatever they want, to follow their dreams and at the same time not be afraid to be unreasonable because none of us were reasonable in any way while chasing our dreams. Don't be afraid to be unreasonable, don't be afraid to stand out and be different. And just like in Finding Nemo, keep swimming. The simpler you approach this lifestyle, the better.

• Lauren Cox, World and European medalist: One thing I've learned in my swimming career is that no matter what you lose in life or in sport, what really matters is how you come back and how hard you're willing to work, how much you're willing to put in yourself and work with others to really come back, and it all comes down to how much you want it. I really want to achieve my dreams so I will do everything in my power to succeed and I think more kids should think like that because losing is part of sport and it's inevitable and I think we have to accept it and consider it a way of life.

• Angelina Köhler, World Champion: When I was a child, I was always different. I used to sing and dance before my races and do a lot of fun stuff and stuff like that. I mean it's okay to be different and no one should look like that in the car. It's like, “Oh, they're so focused.” No, that's the way it has to be. Some people can sing. Others can dance. Others are focused. Everyone is different. It's okay to be different. When you're a very enthusiastic person, give free rein to your feelings, let it flow and don't be afraid that someone will judge you and say, “God, she's not consistent or focused,” so be yourself. And I think that all the swimmers present here are not normal and have something different inside, and that's what makes them so special.

• Apostolos Christou, Olympic vice-champion, world medalist, triple European champion: It's important to live in the moment, to go through hardships every year, every day, because all that remains of our careers are the experiences; medals come and go. What matters is what you experience every day: the travels, the people you meet. It is the process by which you become a better person. To focus on the things they can solve, not the results, because then we lose touch with our dreams.