Romanian teenager David Popovici powered to the men’s Olympic 200m freestyle gold medal on Monday, edging Britain’s Matthew Richards by a fingertip.
The 19-year-old, who burst onto the scene by winning the 100m-200m freestyle double at the 2022 world championships, touched in 1min 44.72secs ahead of Richards (1:44.74).
American Luke Hobson (1:44.79) took bronze in a frantic finish.
It was Popovici’s first Olympic medal after missing out in Tokyo where he came fourth, but he was in top form leading into Paris.
He had to work hard for the win with Germany’s Lukas Maertens, who claimed the 400m gold medal on Saturday, surging through the opening 150m in front.
But Popovici is a strong finisher and he clawed back to touch first in a thrilling finale.
Maertens ended in fifth with Britain’s Tokyo silver medallist Duncan Scott coming fourth.
With AFP
