Romania's Popovici qualifies for men 100 freestyle with best time at World Aquatics Championships

Romanian swimmer David Popovici qualified for the semifinals of the 100 metres freestyle, at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, with the best time of Wednesday's event, 47 sec 41/100, according to AFP.

As in Tuesday's men 200-metre freestyle event, which he won, Popovici managed a very fast final lap, recording the fifth-fastest time this year in the 100-metre freestyle.

The reigning Olympic champion, Chinese Zhanle Pan, who won the medal in Paris with a new world record (46 sec 40/100), ranked 6th in the event, with 47 sec 86/100.

The next fastest times after Popovici were recorded by Australian Kyle Chalmers (47.48 seconds) and Russian Egor Kornev (47.51 seconds).

Bronze medallist at the 2024 Olympics in this event, David Popovici is to compete in the second semifinal on Wednesday (2:32 pm).