European Championships, Day Four Semifinals: David Popovici Closing In on Third Title in 200 Freestyle
Fresh off a come-from-behind victory in the 100-meter freestyle, where he clocked the third-fastest time in history, Romania’s David Popovici was the headliner of semifinal action on Night Four of the European Championships in Paris. The reigning Olympic champion in the event, Popovici is in search of his third European crown in the discipline and is the overwhelming favorite to achieve that feat.
The men’s 200 freestyle will be the first semifinal on the program, followed by the women’s 100 butterfly, men’s 50 backstroke and women’s 200 breaststroke. Great Britain’s Angharad Evans will try to keep her momentum going in the 200 breaststroke after posting the fastest time in prelims. Earlier in the week, Evans won gold in the 100 breaststroke, a run that was highlighted by a 1:04.97 championship record.
In the men’s 50 backstroke, the Russian duo of Kliment Kolesnikov and Pavel Samusenko are the top seeds in the semifinals, having gone respective times of 24.12 and 24.13 in the morning session. Kolesnikov is the world-record holder at 23.55 and owns seven of the eight-fastest times in history. Meanwhile, the women’s 100 butterfly will have Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk and Germany’s Angelina Kohler as the top seeds, following their sub-57 performances from prelims.
Here is an event-by-event recap of the Night Four semifinals:
Men’s 200 Freestyle
The search for a third European title is progressing smoothly for David Popovici, as the Romanian Olympic champion cruised to the top seed for the final. Popovici won the first of the two semifinals, going 1:44.56 to finish ahead of Germany’s Lukas Martens (1:44.79) and Great Britain’s James Guy (1:45.14). The top-four performances came from the opening semifinal, with Italy’s Carlos D’Ambrosio touching in 1:45.38 for Lane Six in the final.
Popovici is the championship-record holder in the event, off his 1:42.97 outing at the 2022 edition of the European Champs. He won the 100 freestyle on Wednesday with the No. 3 time in history and pushing the 1:43 barrier could be in the cards for the final of the 200 free.
Women’s 100 Butterfly
Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk comfortably recorded the fastest time in the 100 butterfly, as she equaled the championship record with a mark of 55.89. That performance tied the time that Sarah Sjostrom posted at the 2016 European Champs. Vanotterdijk was nearly a second clear of Germany’s Angelina Kohler, who was second-fastest in the morning with a swim of 56.79. Also breaking the 57-second barrier was Greece’s Anna Ntountounaki, who went 56.99.
Men’s 50 Backstroke
The Russian pair of Pavel Samusenko and Kliment Kolesnikov went one-two in the semifinals of the 50 backstroke, and it was not the world-record holder who will occupy Lane Four in the final. Samusenko clocked 24.03 for the quickest time of the session, ahead of the 24.14 that Kolesnikov produced to win the second semifinal. On their heels was Czechia’s Miroslav Knedla, who checked in at 24.20.
Italian Thomas Ceccon, the world-record holder in the 100 backstroke, eked into the final at half the distance by placing eighth in 24.45.
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
Still to come…
