World Championships: David Popovici Has Momentum Entering 100 Free Matchup with Pan Zhanle With Kyle Chalmers Lurking
Perhaps you saw what David Popovici did to Luke Hobson off the final turn in Tuesday’s final of the men’s 200 freestyle. Hobson had built a lead of six tenths, but Popovici had another gear, the kind of surge reminiscent of his world titles in the 100 and 200-meter races three years ago in Budapest.
Hobson is part of an American team still overcoming a bout of acute gastroenteritis picked up at their training camp, so perhaps that affected his closing speed, but neither Hobson nor any other active swimmer has ever matched the time of 1:43.53 that Popovici recorded for gold. Popovici’s time was the 10th-fastest in history and his fourth-best mark ever, just over a half-second off the 1:42.97 he swam in 2022
Now, attention turns to the 100 free, where Popovici will try to dethrone China’s Pan Zhanle, the man who achieved a logic-defying time of 46.40 on his way to Olympic gold last year. Pan won that event by more than a second while Popovici secured bronze. And if Popovici is coming in riding a confidence high off his 200-meter victory, Pan is surely feeling quite the opposite.
“It’s not good,” Pan said after finishing 22nd in Monday’s 200 free prelims, well out of semifinal contention and two seconds off his best time. But the 20-year-old from China seemed unconcerned about what might happen in his focus event coming up. “This won’t affect my upcoming races,” he said. “The 200 and 100 are two different events.”
Pan Zhanle after winning Olympic gold — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
His history suggests truth in that statement: his result in the 200 free was far worse at the Paris Olympics, with Pan clocking 1:49.47 for 22nd out of 25 competitors. Then, Pan narrowly snuck into the 100 free semis in a three-way tie for 13th, less than a tenth away from a second early elimination. But a semifinal rebound quickly followed before he crushed the field when gold was on the line.
So what should we expect out of Pan in the 100 free? That’s unclear. He clocked 46.63 anchoring China’s 400 free relay, second-best in the field but much slower than the 45.92 he posted anchoring the Chinese men’s 400 medley relay to gold in Paris. Of course, this free relay team was well out of medal contention when Pan dove into the pool. Hence, the range of possibilities for this upcoming 100 free is large.
Popovici, on the other hand, is easier to predict. The Romanian, a month younger than Pan, has that burst that largely eluded him the last two years, as evidenced by his result in the 200 plus the 46.71 he clocked earlier this month for a European record and the second-fastest time in history. He is in position to match or exceed that mark in the 100 free final.
The other dependable force in this event is Kyle Chalmers, who has reached the podium every time he has contested the 100 free at the World Championships or Olympics. Nine years after stunning the field for Olympic gold and two years after claiming his long-elusive long course world title in the event, the 27-year-old Australian was dynamite on the anchor leg of the 400 free relay, going 46.53 to bring Australia from third place to the gold-medal podium.
Like Popovici, Chalmers has finishing speed to be feared, as Caeleb Dressel can attest to from barely holding off Chalmers in the 100 free at the 2019 World Championships and 2021 Olympics.
On the other side of the equation are the sprint-centric competitors: American Jack Alexy clocked 46.99 at U.S. Nationals last month, and he had by far the quickest 400 free relay leadoff at 47.24. Alexy won silver in the 100 free behind Chalmers two years ago while France’s Maxime Grousset took bronze, and Grousset is coming off a world title in the 50 fly. Brazil’s Gui Caribe is the third seed in the event, fresh off a 47.10 performance earlier this year.
The contenders are numerous, but the results from the first three days in Singapore have given Popovici a greater edge, that finishing magic of three years ago back in full force.
