Romania’s David Popovici and the Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen, who between them have collected three individual gold medals so far in the pool at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026, received their trophies at the end of the medal ceremonies on 14 August for being voted European Aquatics men’s and women’s swimmers of 2025.
The presentation was made by European Aquatics President Antonio Silva. Popovici completed his familiar 100m/200m freestyle double for a third straight Championships, while Steenbergen reclaimed the 100m freestyle title she first won at Rome’s edition of the Championships in 2022, alongside an impressive gold with her country in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
Popovici claimed 37.94% of the vote in the 2025 Athlete of the Year Awards, edging out 2024 winner Leon Marchand of France, who polled 31.52%, in a contest that weighed both senior and U23-level performances. At the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the Romanian topped the fastest 100m freestyle podium in history in 46.51, just 0.11 off the world record, before adding the 200m freestyle title in 1:43.53.
He had already served notice of that form at the European Aquatics U23 Championships in Samorin, where he lowered his own 100m freestyle European record to 46.71 en route to a 100/200m double. Hungary’s Hubert Kos placed third in the voting with 16.57%. In Paris, Popovici extended that dominance further, defending his 100m title in a championship record of 46.56 on 12 August before completing what he called the “treble double” with 200m gold in 1:44.15 on 14 August, the same day he collected his trophy.
Steenbergen’s award followed an incredible 2025, as she earned 36.29% of the vote for a campaign that spanned both long course and short course competition. She opened 2025 by defending her 100m freestyle world title in Singapore in 52.55, ahead of Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan and the United States’ Torri Huske, before helping the Netherlands to bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Her form then reached new heights at the European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin, where she won five gold medals and set five European records. Italy’s Simona Quadarella was runner-up in the vote with 24.48%, having defended her world 800m and 1500m freestyle titles in Singapore. Steenbergen carried her 2025 form straight into Paris, winning the 100m freestyle in a championship record of 51.90 ahead of Dutch teammate Milou van Wijk, and setting the fastest relay split in history with a 50.87 anchor leg in the mixed medley relay.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
