17-year-old Romanian David Popovici qualified on Sunday for the semifinals of the men's 200m freestyle event of the European Aquatics Championships in Rome, pulling off the second-fastest heat time - 1 min 46.87, behind Hungary's Kristof Milak - 1 min 46.26.
Popovici, who had his coming-out at this year's worlds in Budapest, where he set the European and world junior records in the 200m freestyle (1 min 43.21), will race the semifinals on Sunday, starting 19:11 hrs Romania time.
On Saturday, Popovici won the European 100m free title with a new world record of 46.86 seconds, Agerpres.