David Popovici won the gold medal in the 100m freestyle at the European Championships in Paris, setting a new competition record with a time of 46.56 seconds.

David Popovici, at the age of 21, won the gold medal in the 100 m freestyle at the European Championships in Paris, finishing the race in 46.56 seconds.

He surpassed the Russian Egor Kornev by 18 hundredths of a second, who won the silver, while the Hungarian Kristof Milak took the bronze with 46.87.

Popovici started from lane four, having previously set the best semifinal time of 46.72 seconds, and improved his performance in the final by 16 hundredths. Although he broke the European Championships record, his time is five hundredths over the European record of 46.51 seconds, which he set himself.

This is Popovici's third consecutive victory in this event, bringing him closer to the record of the legendary Alexander Popov.

The next challenge for Popovici will be the 200 m freestyle, where he will seek to become the first swimmer to win both European titles consecutively.