David Popovici: Sprint With The Stars Was With And For The Children
David Popovici’s Sprint with the Stars brought together hundreds of children from across Romania and beyond to swim against Olympic and world champions.
It was the first time the competition has been held in Romania with the swimming complex in which Popovici trains in Otopeni playing host in front of around 1,500 spectators.
Sprint with the Stars follows a similar format to the AP Race International held at the Aquatics Centre in London although in Otopeni, the swimmers had a head start over the international athlete in their race. All races were 50m sprints across each stroke.
Ages ranged from eight up to 15 and over with Popovici, Adam Peaty, Lauren Cox, Apostolos Christou, Angelina Köhler, Roos Vanotterdijk and Diogo Ribeiro taking to the water.
Popovici, who won the 100/200 free double at the World Championships last year, was swarmed by fans looking for photos and autographs.
It was, says Popovici, easy to attract the top swimmers once they saw it was “with and about the children” and made the Olympic 200 free champion imagine how he’d have felt about swimming with his heroes at the age of 10.
He told Euronews Romania: “I do my best to realise what it means to them, I put myself in their shoes. That is, if I had the chance at eight, 10 or 15-years-old years old to swim with world-class swimmers I admire, I would have been over the moon just as I hope and see that they are.”
He also told local media: “I wish I had this when I was a child. So I do it, in a way, for the child in me, who didn’t have such an event when I was young, thus giving the chance to compete with the best swimmers in the world.”
Popovici, who won the 100/200 free double at last year’s World Championships in Singapore, also posted on social media, saying: “When I was a kid, I used to watch the great champions on television. Yesterday, young swimmers got the chance to meet some of the world’s greatest champions, ask us questions and compete alongside us.
“A dream that I had at the beginning has become a reality. The event I would have liked to have access to when I was a young athlete arrived, firstly, in Romania. Being able to offer this experience to 663 young swimmers from Romania and 13 other countries is a joy that is hard to put into words.
“This event isn’t just about competition, it’s about courage, dreams, and the chance to show young people that hard work, passion and confidence can turn any dream into reality. I’m grateful and proud to have been able to contribute to this story.
“I thank my colleagues @kauflandromania, . @porsche.romania, who accepted the invitation and inspired by their presence, to @union_hotel_sky_bar, team all the teams involved in the organization for their professionalism and dedication, to the partners who believed in this dream: Technology, Serate, @frnpmoficial, the media for the support and last but not least the audience who created an incredible energy.
“PS. Thank you dad (@mihai.popovici.984) for saying yes from the beginning and for coordinating everything so that the magic happens.”