David Popovici’s Parents: Everything You Need to Know About the Romanian Swimming Star’s Family

Jul 31, 2024 | 11:36 PM EDT

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What's Your Perspective On

Is David Popovici's success more about talent or the unwavering support from his parents?

Every sport has the habit of producing brand-new prodigies every day. These athletes pop out of relative obscurity and shock the world at a very young age. Football has Kylian Mbappe, while basketball has Victor Wembanyama. Swimming‘s future for a long time now has been about David Popovici. The 19-year-old has long been considered the future of swimming. This would have never been possible without the support of his parents. They identified Popovici’s talent at a very young age and have done everything possible to make his dream come true.

The Romanian athlete recently won the first gold medal for his country in the 200-meter freestyle event at the ongoing Paris Olympics. While Germany’s Luka Martens led the pack for most of the race, he dropped his speed in the final 50 meters. That’s when Popovici, who was right behind him for most of the race, passed him. Despite stiff competition from Great Britain’s Matthew Richards and the USA’s Luke Hobson, Popovici was the first to cross the line with a time of 1:44.72.

This was vindication for his first Olympic appearance in Tokyo. There, he missed the bronze medal by a whisker in the 100-meter freestyle. Since then, he has only proved his prowess by winning gold medals in the 2022 World Championships, the European Junior Championships, and now the Paris Olympics. This success was not achieved by him solely through his talent.

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As they say, talent without hard work is nothing. Popovici has put in the work, training rigorously every day solely for this moment. Through it all, his parents stood by his side, cheering him on. Here we discuss more about his parents and their contribution to his success.

Polls of the day

Poll 1 of 5

What do you think is the most inspiring aspect of David Popovici's family story?

Parental support

Overcoming challenges

Dedication to training

Family values

Do you think Sarah Sjöström made the right decision by vetoing her Paris Olympics dream?

Yes, she knows best

No, she should have pushed through

Undecided

Whats your Perspective on:

Is David Popovici's success more about talent or the unwavering support from his parents?

Have an interesting take?

Do you think Pan Zhale's doping case will tarnish the reputation of the Paris Olympics?

Yes

Maybe

Not sure

Do you think Pan Zhanle's new world record will stand the test of time?

Yes, he's unbeatable

No, records are meant to be broken

Maybe, only time will tell

Who are the parents of David Popovici?

David Popovici was born in Bucharest, Romania, to Mihai and Georgeta Popovici. His father is a pharmaceutical company agent and currently heads the Dinamo Club Swimming School. To encourage his son’s interest, Mihai had to fight a lot of rejections thanks to young David’s attitude. When he was 10, his father took him to the most successful swimming club in Bucharest, called Aquateam. There, coaches were not happy with David’s mannerisms. They complained that he kept joking around and skipped many drills. Many of the veteran coaches at the club refused to train him. Thus, he was assigned to the most inexperienced coach there.

What’s your perspective on:

Is David Popovici's success more about talent or the unwavering support from his parents?

Have an interesting take?

But that coach would be the one who would lead him to his future glory. It would take less than two years for Adrian Radulescu to take him to national glory. He then guided Popovici to win every junior circuit competition, hence marking him as the most talked-about young swimmer in the world. When asked, Radulescu gave a very astute intellectual example as to whether his lack of experience contributed to shaping Popovici. He alluded to film director Orson Welles, who made the all-time classic Citizen Kane his first work. Welles had said that his greenness in shooting made him better, coupled with his cinematographer’s insistence on never refusing any order. Radulescu compared Popovici to a cinematographer. He also said that David’s relationship with his parents also proved vital to his development. He believed they had built a big ecosystem for the growth of a swimmer and a person.

How did David Popovici’s parents help their son realize his dream?

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When David was 11, his father realized after watching him that he might one day turn into a great athlete. He tried to help him realize this potential as much as possible. Mihai and Georgeta never punished him for his performances in the pool. According to his coach’s admission, they would instead take him to IKEA because he liked to eat there after swim meets, irrespective of his performance. His parents never talked about swimming in their house. Their concern was more about whether their son was enjoying the sport. One thing that did not change was the fact that they believed in him. They made a diet for him after proper research to enhance his performance.

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When it became unaffordable for Mihai to bear the cost of training, he wrote emails to a hundred sponsors, asking for their support. Slowly, he found the sponsorship of three companies, one of which is still sponsoring him today. After David’s confession at 8 years old that he wanted to be an Olympian, his parents made T-shirts that read Tokyo 2020. That would have been the first Olympics in which he’d be old enough to compete. Finally, three years ago, he competed in Tokyo. Though he did not win a medal at the time, he justified the efforts and sacrifices of his parents, as he won the gold medal in Paris. A lot of the kin of an athlete sacrifice a lot about their lives in order to be successful. All these efforts should not go unnoticed, and they should be celebrated, too. David Popovici, with his success at the Paris Olympics, proved that.