David Popovici Wins Olympic Gold in Men’s 200m Free, Mollie O’Callaghan Upsets Ariarne Titmus

David Popovici clinches Olympic gold in the men’s 200m freestyle race, while Mollie O’Callaghan surprises by defeating Ariarne Titmus in the women’s event.

Teenager David Popovici achieved a stunning victory at the Olympics in the men’s 200m freestyle, securing Romania's first swimming gold.

The 19-year-old Popovici, who previously won the 100m-200m freestyle titles at the 2022 world championships, finished in 1 minute and 44.72 seconds, narrowly beating Matthew Richards of Great Britain (1:44.74).

Team USA’s Luke Hobson (1:44.79) claimed the bronze in a closely contested race.

This win marked Popovici’s first Olympic medal after his 4th place finish in Tokyo 2020. He faced tough competition from Germany’s Lukas Maertens, the 400m gold medalist, who initially held the lead in the race.

However, Popovici displayed a strong finish, overtaking his opponents to touch the wall first in a thrilling finale.

Teenager McIntosh Bags First Olympic Gold

Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh claimed the first gold medal of her young career with a dominating victory in the 400m individual medley

Canada’s Summer McIntosh, aged 17, dominated the women’s 400m individual medley (IM), securing her second medal of the Paris Games.

The world record holder McIntosh completed the race in 4 minutes and 27.71 seconds, a staggering 5.69 seconds ahead of silver medalist Katie Grimes. Emma Weyant, also from the USA, secured the bronze.

McIntosh’s victory followed her silver medal win behind Titmus in the 400m freestyle event.

Ceccon Wins Backstroke Gold, Smith Takes Breaststroke Title

South Africa’s Tatjana Smith celebrates after winning the women’s 100m breaststroke final

Italy’s Thomas Ceccon, the world record holder, executed a remarkable late surge to claim the men’s 100m backstroke gold, finishing in precisely 52 seconds. He narrowly beat China’s Xu Jiayu to the silver. Ryan Murphy from Team USA won the bronze.

Tatjana Smith of South Africa clinched the country’s first gold in Paris and added the 100m breaststroke title to her 2021 200m win from Tokyo under her previous name of Schoenmaker.