Romania’s Olympic champion David Popovici shattered his own European record as he won the men’s 100m freestyle title in 46.71 to claim his second gold at the European Aquatics U23 Swimming Championships on the final night.

The 20-year-old thus bettered the mark of 46.86 he set in winning the world title three years ago – a world record until Pan Zhanle clocked 46.80 at the Doha 2024 World Championships. The Chinese swimmer lowered that mark to 46.40 in winning the Paris 2024 title, with his Romanian rival adding bronze to the gold he had secured in the 200m freestyle.

Popovici, who marked his debut in this Championship by winning the men’s 200m freestyle on the opening night in 1:43.64, the fastest time in the world this year, dominated his race from the first stroke, completing his final 50m in a staggering 23.98 – the first time anyone has bettered 24 seconds, faster even than the closing 24.12 Pan recorded in his Paris 2024 world record swim.

“I would say it was pretty fast but I wouldn’t say it was unexpected because I have been feeling well,” Popovici told European Aquatics. “We haven’t tapered for this meet, we maybe slowed down a few km’s but I try to say all the time a happy swimmer is a fast swimmer and if I’m relaxed enough and I’m happy in my personal life as well then I can achieve what I love most.

“I absolutely think it’s possible (breaking the world record). The same way it was possible for Pan to break it, the same way it was possible for me three years ago, I feel records are made to be broken and slowly but surely I’m making my way to it.”

Germany’s Sven Schwarz came within 0.86 of his European record in winning the men’s 800m title in 7:38.98, with Bulgaria’s Petar Mitsin taking silver in 7:53.32 and France’s Emile Vincent earning bronze in 7:53.88.

That enabled Germany to match the Polish total of five golds, but Poland – despite not adding further golds on a day when 10 different nations topped the podium from 12 finals –  finished top of the final medals table thanks to a superior total of 11 medals to seven.

Romania’s sporting idol, who also won bronze in the men’s 50m freestyle, is relaxed and in ominously good form as he heads towards next month’s World Championships in Singapore.

Popovici’s friend and contemporary Diogo Ribeiro signed off with his second gold of these Championships in the men’s 50m butterfly – one of two events at which he won world gold last year.

Ribeiro won a hugely competitive race in 23.01, with Ukraine’s world 50m freestyle champion Vladyslav Bukhov second in 23.09 and Romania’s Denis-Laurean Popescu – who beat Rebeiro to his other world title distance of 200m butterfly on day one – taking bronze in 23.43.

Reflecting upon the fact that the 50m butterfly was recently added to the Olympic programme for the Los Angeles 2028 Games, Ribeiro commented: “It’s my favourite event so I’m happy because I feel good and it’s a good thing for the World’s coming soon. I want to swim the 50m and the 100m at the Olympics which makes it a bit complicated but I want a medal in the 50m fly, 50m free and everything which I think is possible.

“It’s fun mixing it with the bigger guys and these Europeans have been great.”

Elsewhere on an evening of noise and excitement at the x-biosphere outdoor pool Austria’s Luka Mladenovic and Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk both completed golden hat-tricks.

Mladenovic, 21, had already won the men’s 50m and 200m breaststroke titles and he completed his set with another dominant performance, coming home in 59.97, with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Lisovets second in 1:0.36 ahead of Ivo Kroes of The Netherlands, who took bronze in 1:00.62.

“It started with the 50m, then the gold from lane 8 in the 200m and now also the gold in the 100m so the triple makes me super proud,” Mladenovic said.

“The 50 felt so good so maybe I expected to get a medal in the other two but not the golds in both. I felt nerves (today), but these are really good results heading towards the Worlds in Singapore and I hope to show what I can do.”

Vanotterdijk won the women’s 50m butterfly in 25.63, with home athlete Tamara Potocka adding silver in 25.86 to the 200m individual medley bronze she won on the first night, and Croatia’s Daryna Nabojcenko finishing third in 25.90.

“I’m so happy to get good racing in before the Singapore World Championships and I’m happy to be making personal bests and swim like this as it gives me so much confidence.

“The 50m fly and 50m free isn’t really my thing but I can still do it and now it was really good in both which makes me so happy to have this kind of speed as it helps in my 100m.

“It’s all come together here and I think this is a really important event which gives everybody a good experience. The step from juniors to seniors can be hard but we have seen the standard here is really high so we all learn a lot.”

The ever-adaptable 20-year-old, who had already won the 100m butterfly and 50m backstroke and earned silver in the 100m backstroke and 50m freestyle, took one more shot at a medal but had to settle for fifth place in a women’s 100m freestyle final won by the Dutch winner of the 50m freestyle, Milou van Wijk, in 53.66.

Germany’s Nina Holt took silver in 54.01 ahead of Hungary’s joint women’s 200m freestyle champion Minna Abraham, who clocked 54.36.

The evening session had begun with two nations earning their first golds of these Championships. First Denmark’s Clara Rybak-Andersen outpaced the three fastest qualifiers to claim the women’s 200m title in 2:23.89, with Ireland’s Ellie McCartney completing her medal set in Samorin by taking silver in 2:24.02 ahead of Lithuania’s Kotryna Teterevkova, who clocked 2:24.86.

Soon afterwards Union flags were being flourished in jubilation as Great Britain’s Jack Skerry won the men’s 100m backsroke in 53.35 with his team-mate Matthew Ward earning bronze in 54.29 behind Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zheltiakov, who finished in 53.93.

Britain doubled its gold medal total within the hour as Honey Osrin came through in the second half of the women’s 200m backstroke final to win in 2:11.28 from Poland’s fast-finishing Adela Piskorska, who clocked 2:11.56 in lane eight, with France’s Lou-Anne Guiton taking bronze in 2:11.68.

Greece earned its fourth gold of these Championships through Artemis Vasilaki, who won the women’s 1500m title in 16:22.20 from Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz on 16:26.58 and Marian Ploger of Germany on 16.:32.40.

Dominik Torok provided Hungary with its third gold of these Championships as he won the men’s 200m individual medley in 2:00.00 from Ukraine’s Vadym Naumenko on 2:00.51 and Daniil Giourtzidis of Greece on 2:00.56.

And victory in the concluding mixed 4x100m freestyle relay in 3:27.13 enabled Hungary to move up to third in the final medals table, matching Greece’s total of four golds but finishing ahead by 10 medals to nine.

Germany were second in 3:27.16 ahead of Great Britain on 3:27.93.

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics