Romanian swimmers David Popovici and Bianca Costea won gold medals on Sunday, the last day of the World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima (Peru), while Vlad Stancu won a bronze medal.
David Popovici won gold in the 100 m freestyle, timed at 47 sec 13/100, followed over two seconds later by the second ranked Croatian Jere Hribar, 49 sec 37/100, while in third place was the Cypriot Nikolas Antoniou, in 49 sec 91/100.
Patrick Sebastian Dinu took 5th place in 50 sec 09/100.
In the women's 50 m freestyle, Bianca Costea won the gold medal in 25 sec 35/100, beating Italians Sara Curtis, 25 sec 53/100, and Matilde Biagiotti, 25 sec 60/100.Vlad Stefan Stancu won the bronze medal in the 1,500 m freestyle, with a time of 15 min 17 sec 97/100, being overtaken by the Spaniard Carlos Garach Benito, 15 min 08 sec 14/100, and by the Hungarian Laszlo Galicz, 15 min 12 sec 71/100.
Romania took the 4th place in the medal standings at the Junior Worlds, with 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze: the gold medals were won in the men's 4x100 m freestyle championships (David Popovici, Alexandru Constantinescu, Stefan Cozma, Patrick Sebastian Dinu), through David Popovici (200 m freestyle, 100 m free) and Bianca Costea (50 m freestyle), the silver was obtained by Vlad Stancu (400 m freestyle) and by the combined 4x100 m freestyle relay (David Popovici, Patrick Sebastian Dinu, Rebecca Diaconescu, Bianca Costea), and the bronze was brought by Vlad Stancu (800 m freestyle and 1,500 m freestyle).
Romania ended in force a remarkable summer for its swimming, with two gold medals at the Senior Worlds in Budapest, both won by David Popovici (100 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle), two gold medals at the Senior European Championships in Rome, both obtained by David Popovici (100 m freestyle and 200 m freestyle), and nine medals at the Junior European Championships in Otopeni, five gold and four silver - gold by David Popovici (50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle), Vlad Stancu (1,500 m freestyle) and men's 4x100 m freestyle (David Popovici, Vlad Stancu, Stefan Cozma, Patrick Dinu), silver by Vlad Stancu (400 m freestyle, 800 m freestyle), Bianca Costea (50 m freestyle) and combined relay 4x100 m freestyle (David Popovici, Patrick Dinu, Bianca Costea, Rebecca Diaconescu, Stefan Cozma, Anastasia Bako, Irina Preda).
AGERPRES