This Wednesday evening, at 6:22 p.m., the sharks will be released in the Duna Arena. The men’s 100m NL, a long-awaited traditional event in every swimming competition, will crown the king of the sprint. Admittedly, the members of the Hungarian roller coaster are not necessarily all known to the general public.
Especially after the package of Caeleb Dressel, who had to give up Tuesday at the time of the semi-finals for medical reasons (gastric problems). But the absence of the American, five-time gold medalist at the last Olympic Games and reigning double world champion, reshuffles the cards and opens up great prospects. Especially for the French Maxime Grousset…
A prodigy named Popovici
It’s not just Léon Marchand who splashes his talent in Hungarian waters. The young Romanian David Popovici, 17, already combines the future with the present. On Monday evening, the swimmer from Bucharest became the youngest 200m NL world champion in history with the fifth fastest time of all time (1′43′’21). The second even outside the polyurethane suit behind Yannick Agnel’s 1′43′’14 in the final of the 2012 Olympics.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the pupil of Adrian Radulescu, who has coached him since he was nine, had already been invited to two finals (100 m NL and 200 m NL), missing the bronze in the 200 m NL by two hundredths. And in Budapest, there is no question of being intoxicated by his coronation on the double round trip. The teenager also made an impression (and the scoreboard) with his 47’13 in the 100m NL semi-final, a new world record for juniors.
If he resists the pressure and the atmosphere (especially with the local Nemeth, qualified in extremis after a jump-off) which surrounds this always special race, there is no need to look far for the favorite, on the way to becoming the first swimmer to achieve the 100/200 world double since 1973…
Large well placed
Behind the Popovici rocket, Maxime Grousset, 23, set the second fastest time in the semi-finals (47′’54) and is offered a great opportunity to succeed Alain Bernard (silver in 2009), William Meynard (bronze in 2011 ) and Mehdy Metella (bronze in 2017), the only three Habs who have already won medals over the distance at the World Championships.
Last summer, at the Japanese Games, the Insep sprinter took fourth place. “I think I’m one of the best now, he slipped at the time. I still have a tiny notch left to get over it and get on the podium. I’m not far behind. »
Today, the New Caledonian, who will have the lane next to Popovici, is just lacking in speed in the first 50m. But he says he experiences great sensations in the water.
“The final is going to be tough,” he breathes. He misses Caeleb, it’s good for me, but it’s going to be hard all the same. Popovici is very strong. On the 200 he was able to impose himself, on the 100 for the moment he is essential. We will see if he is able to do the same thing but nothing is certain. »