2022 EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, July 5th – Sunday, July 10th
- Otopeni Olympic Swimming Complex, Bucharest, Romania
- LCM (50m)
- Start Times
- Prelims: 10 a.m. local / 3 a.m. ET
- Finals: 5 p.m. local / 10 a.m. ET
- Meet Central
- Entries
- Live Results
- Live Stream
When all was said and done on day 2 of these European Junior Championships a total of 4 individual events saw the 2021 champion repeat as gold medalist for this year’s edition.
The repeat-a-thon kicked off with host nation hero David Popovici taking his 2nd consecutive title in the boys’ 200m freestyle.
Producing a time of 1:45.45, 17-year-old Popovici of Romania beat the field by over 2 seconds to check in with a mark half a second faster than he was last year. This title pairs with his senior World Championships title won just over 10 days ago in Budapest. There, he scored a result of 1:43.21 for a new World Junior Record.
On his performance here, the Romanian rocket said, “Today it wasn’t about time, I just wanted to enjoy this swim, I took the breath towards the crowd side to see the people waving their flags and jumping in joy and it was great.
“Even if I had multiple swims daily, this atmosphere really helps me to recover and feel fresh. Now I kind of recognize what Kristof Milak could feel while racing at home in Budapest at the Worlds…”
Popovici could potentially also repeat in the 100m and 50m freestyle races, entering these championships as the top-seeded swimmer in each.
Hungary’s Nikoletta Padar was the next racer to carry over her 2021 win to Bucharest. The 16-year-old defended her 200m free gold, taking the top spot tonight in 1:58.43.
Padar was also in Budapest where she placed 18th in the 200m free out of the heats (1:58.90).
On topping the podium here, Padar said, “I expected to claim a win here and to be in the lead during the whole race, just wanted to do a better time. It’s just a good feeling that you are destined to win, and you deliver, now my focus is on our relays.”
The boys’ 200m butterfly was another event on tonight’s agenda that saw a repeat winner. Poland’s Krzysztof Chmielewski sealed the deal in a mark of 1:55.49 as the only swimmer of the field to dip under the 1:56 threshold, beating twin brother Michel who snagged silver just like last time.
“I expected to claim a win here and to be in the lead during the whole race, just wanted to do a better
time. It’s just a good feeling that you are destined to win, and you deliver, now my focus is on our
relays”, Chmielewski said of his victory.
Finally, the girls’ 1500m freestyle saw Turkish ace Merve Tuncel get it done for gold just like she did in 2021. Here she punched a winning result of 16:13.68, well off her 15:55.23 stunner from last year, but enough to repeat as European Junior champion.
The Romanian Rocket had time to ‘sight see’ during his gold medal 200 Free!