After a very tight race, he finished just two hundredths of a second of second place and thus obtained the first medal for our delegation, but also the first Olympic gold in the history of Romanian men’s swimming. He received congratulations on the Internet from thousands of happy Romanians.

David qualified without problems, being the first in his series, in the semifinals of the 100-meter freestyle race as well.

David Popovici did not lead the race from the start, but he managed to detach himself from the other competitors over the last 50 meters.

David Popovici: "It was a dogfight. This is exactly how I would describe it. During the last 50 meters, I saw the American that was in front of me, I knew that the German was somewhere on the left. I am glad I have written history for us. I realized that I was the first when I touched the plate because they have some lights on them. It was euphoric".

Reporter: There were tears of joy in the stands.

David Popovici: "Yes, I had tears too. I’m not the most open person, but I cried too".

The athlete told how he managed to master the huge pressure during the competition.

David Popovici: "There are a thousand thoughts in just one minute and 44 seconds. I kept repeating to myself for the last few meters that I can’t give up, that it’s now or never, I have to push as hard as I can, I don’t care if I die there in the pool".

Camelia Potec, a gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, watched David breathlessly from the stands.

Camelia Potec, Vice-President of the Olympic Committee: "I cried and I’ll cry again. He won with a difference of two hundredths of a second. Good for him!".

Mihai Covaliu, President of the Olympic Committee: "We broke the ice, as we expected, and this medal comes on a very important day for all of us: The National Anthem Day of Romania. David confirms that he knows what he is doing, that he is an experienced athlete, that he has a valuable team behind him".

David Popovici posted a simple message on Facebook: "Amor fati" – which in Latin means "love your destiny". The phrase became famous because of the German philosopher Nietzsche, who explained it by the prompt "Do what only you can do".

David Popovici is the first Romanian swimmer to climb the podium at the Olympic Games in 20 years. The last time happened in 2004, in Athens, where Răzvan Florea won bronze at 200 meters back.

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