"I don’t care if I die in the pool". What David Popovici repeated to himself in the final meters of the gold medal race in Paris
I don’t care if I die in the pool". What David Popovici repeated to himself in the final meters of the gold medal race in Paris THE OLYMPIC GAMES
He secured the first medal for the Romanian delegation and the first Olympic gold in the history of Romanian men’s swimming.
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David Popovici didn’t lead the race from the start, but managed to pull ahead of his competitors in the last 50 meters.
David Popovici, Olympic champion: "It was a dogfight. That’s exactly how I would describe it. In the last 50 meters, I saw the American ahead of me, I knew the German was somewhere to my left. I’m glad I made history for us. I realized I was first when I touched the pad because it has some lights on it. It was euphoric...".
Reporter: "Tears of joy in the stands...".
David Popovici, Olympic champion: "Yes, but so did I. I’m not the most open person, but I cried too".
Our athlete talked about how he managed to handle the immense pressure during the competition.
David Popovici, Olympic champion: "There are a thousand thoughts in just 1 minute and 44 seconds. I kept repeating to myself in the last few meters that I couldn’t give up, that it’s now or never, if I don’t push myself as hard as I can. I don’t care if I die there, in the pool".
Camelia Potec, gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, watched David with bated breath 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 Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee: "We broke the ice, as we expected. This medal comes on a very, very important day for all of us: The National Anthem Day of Romania. David confirms that he knows what he’s doing, that he’s an experienced athlete, and that he has a valuable team behind him".
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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