David Popovici had a critical speech towards the Romanian political class after winning the bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the Olympic Games.
Our athlete spoke about the empty promises made by politicians regarding the construction of new swimming pools.
David Popovici made light of the situation and stated that he has a tan with marks because he trains more outdoors. When the cold weather comes, David faces real problems preparing under normal conditions in an Olympic-sized pool.
"I received all kinds of reactions. People stopping on the street, taking time out to watch my race, and I hope to truly make a difference, no matter how difficult it will be, not in Romanian swimming, but in Romanian sports. Because sports are one of, if not the best ambassador of the country. I want to achieve great things, even if things are a bit harder for us, I will do my best. Because this is also a slightly more important mission than swimming two pool lengths, four pool lengths. We'll see.
I wouldn't say it's a miracle (what I have achieved - editor's note). However, considering that I surpassed the British, the Americans, at 200, for example, the Australians, who have infinitely better conditions than ours. They have pools to spare! They have all the infrastructure they need. They have absolutely everything… training centers upon training centers, so in these conditions, I train at Lia Manoliu, in the same pool where I learned to swim at the age of four, that's why I have this tan with the marks of goggles, because I swim there outdoors.
And during winter, since we were talking about conditions, when it's cold outside, because the indoor pool… for a very long time, it has been promised that something will be done, but nothing ever starts, when it's cold outside, we train in a bubble where a person who is not used to it enters and stays… 3 minutes, enters and feels like they're suffocating. Well, in those conditions, that's where we train, but… I believe it's possible. We are few, indeed, who truly excel in Romania, in sports, but with the conditions we have, we must do what we can. You mentioned earlier, maybe I spoke about the conditions we have, not just us swimmers, but athletes in general, in the country, maybe something will change!", said David Popovici in an interview for TVR.
Later, David Popovici directly addressed politicians. He stated that they congratulate him and rejoice in his results, but he doesn't see concrete actions being taken for sports.
"Nothing will change just by talking about it! They really need to apply pressure, make it known to all the people in charge of such matters, we need to get to work, because we have an Olympic champion once in a blue moon, lately. I'm glad I managed to do this, I did it again for myself, for the country, for everyone, but I would like us to have more and more medals. I would like us to have more than three qualified individuals for swimming at the Olympics. We have a fairly large delegation – I think 103 athletes – at the Olympics, but look at many other countries with the same or fewer inhabitants than us and they have triple, quadruple… Because they invest more in sports, sports are considered more important and it's no wonder there are countries more developed than ours. So, for an educated, healthy Romania, we need to invest more in sports.
This is a message to all politicians who talk about this, but at some point, the message gets stuck somewhere. So, we need to do something! Because you see all the reactions of ordinary people watching television, people in high positions… everyone is happy, everyone rejoices, but why not rejoice more often? Let's have more Olympic champions, more medalists, more finalists, more qualifiers for the Olympics," David Popovici added.
David Popovici's Message to Romanians
At the same time, David Popovici also had a message for his fans in Romania, who have sent him a lot of energy in recent days.
"And I love them. Seriously! Truly! Indeed, many Romanians, Romanian flags, I heard my name everywhere, I heard Romania being shouted from everywhere, but I am aware that at home, in front of screens, glued to televisions or phones, there were even more Romanians, and even if you weren't here, 50 meters away from me, I felt you and thank you for all the support, for the races that were shown to me either at the stadium or in restaurants," David added.
What David Popovici Said About the Bronze Medal
David Popovici spoke casually about his performance in the 100-meter final.
"I'm not disappointed at all. I'm calmer and perhaps even a bit happier compared to the gold medal, because now I can completely relax, even though I won the gold medal, I was thinking that I still needed to rest, I needed to sleep very well because I had another Olympic event coming up.
Now I'm done! I can visit Paris too! I've been here for so many days and stayed barricaded in the hotel and on the roads here. I've been thinking for months 'what will I do after I finish, maybe I'll win, maybe I'll get another medal, what will I do? I don't know!' Now that I've achieved my goal, I have no idea!
My true goal was to have fun… not necessarily to have fun, but when you reach an Olympic final, everything is so tense that you don't feel like laughing, having fun. My most important goal was for my races to go as planned, I think I got pretty close! I'm satisfied! The fact that I also got two medals makes me even more satisfied.
I gave everything we had and more… I can't be happier! I have no reason to be disappointed that I didn't get gold again. I was a hundredth away from second place, but even the one in fourth place was a hundredth away from me. That's sports, it's harsh!" David Popovici concluded, according to Fanatik.