Romanian swimmer David Popovici finishes fourth in 200-meter race at World Swimming Championship

Romania's swimming star David Popovici came in fourth in the 200-meter freestyle event at the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

The Romanian swimmer easily qualified for the final of this event after winning the semifinal with a time of 01:44.70. Considered the main favorite at the competition in Japan, David Popovici ended up in 4th place in his favorite event, the 200-meter freestyle, despite leading at every one of the three turns. He was overtaken in the last 25 meters.

Popovici finished the event with a time of 01:44.90, while at the previous World Championships, he had won the gold medal.

This year, British swimmer Matthew Richards won the gold in 01:44.30, followed by his compatriot Tom Dean at 01:44.32. The bronze medal was taken by South Korean Sunwoo Hwang with 1:44.42, according to Euronews.

Only four swimmers have achieved two consecutive gold medals at the World Championships in swimming history: Michael Gross (1983, 1986), Ian Thorpe (2001, 2003), Michael Phelps (2005, 2007), and Sun Yang (2017, 2019).

Next up for David Popovici is the 100-meter freestyle event, where he holds the senior world record. He will compete in the heats on July 26, at 04:30 (Romanian time). The semifinals will take place on the same day, at 14:00, and the final is scheduled for July 27, at 14:00.

(Photo source: Cateyeperspective/Dreamstime.com)