Radio România Internațional

Tag: FINA World Championships

  • A new victory for David Popovici

    A new victory for David Popovici

    After two years of pandemic in which Romanians’ morale has dropped dramatically, against the background of the war in neighboring Ukraine which makes the headlines from morning till evening, every day, and all this at a time when the lives of ordinary citizens are increasingly marked by financial instability……in all this rather confusing context, this week’s news, from swimming, had a more than invigorating effect: wonderful things happen too!

    The joy is even greater as the Romanian sport had entered, for some time, a shadow cone. Football, gymnastics or athletics, which once carried the country’s fame around the world, have regressed to such an extent that Romania’s representatives only add one failure after another. The circle is vicious – poor results lead to a decrease in funding from the state budget, and insufficient funding is directly proportional to the results obtained.

    In swimming, however, his talent and hard work, the support of his parents and his coach Adrian Rădulescu brought to the 17 year old David Popovici two world titles at the FINA World Championships in Budapest ; a first since 1973. For 49 years no swimmer had won the 100-meter and 200-meter events at the same World Championships!

    With 47 seconds and 58 hundredths, David Popovici became, on Wednesday evening, the world champion in the 100 meters freestyle, considered the queen of swimming. It is so fast that the athlete does not have time for strategies or to correct any mistakes. But let’s relive the moment of victory in the Hungarian capital:

    This is the fight! Popovici on the 4th aisle! It’s crazy! Popovici and Edwards, Edwards has a slight lead. Popovici has the second half of the pool strong! Popovici is second, the Frenchman Grousset is first. Come on David, last length! David Popovici is the world champion! Amazing victory for David Popovici!

    Just two days before, on Monday, the high school student who wakes up at 4 in the morning to train, had won the title in the 200 meters freestyle event, setting a new record for juniors. But does David Popovici say?

    It wasn’t a competition for which we trained extraordinarily hard, this makes me even more optimistic about what might happen in the near future, but I would be lying if I said that I was not in a good condition, in a good competitive shape. I was, only I didn’t know and I think it’s a good thing, that I can still be surprised.

    Romania is happy, despite the modest conditions that the State has provided to transform the remarkable talent of the young athlete into what David Popovici is today: a great champion! Next this summer are the European Junior Championships in Romania, the European Championships in Rome and the Junior World Championships in Lima. (MI)

  • June 22, 2022 UPDATE

    June 22, 2022 UPDATE

    Summits. The President of
    Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will attend, on June 23-24, in Brussels, the meeting
    of the leaders of the European Union and the Western Balkans, the European
    Council and the Euro Summit in extended format. According to the Presidency in
    Bucharest, the meeting of the leaders of the European Union and of the Western Balkans
    will be an opportunity to reaffirm, in the current geopolitical context, the EU
    leaders’ support for the European anchoring of the Western Balkans and for
    advancing and consolidating the enlargement process within the established
    framework. At the same time, the meeting will focus on an exchange of views
    with partners in the region to identify concrete ways to stimulate reform
    processes and strengthen cooperation in key areas of common interest, in order
    to enhance resilience. The agenda of the European Council meeting will include
    a strategic debate on defining the European Union’s relations with its European
    partners, the situation in Ukraine, from the perspective of security
    developments and the support provided by the European Union on multiple levels,
    and Ukraine’s, Moldova’s and Georgia’s applications for EU membership. At the
    extended Euro Summit, the participants will discuss the economic situation in
    the Union and the developments regarding the Banking Union and the capital
    markets.








    Cooperation. In Abu Dhabi, Romanian
    Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu co-chaired with Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh,
    Minister of State for Economic and Trade Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, the
    second session of the cooperation commission of the the governments of the two
    countries. The meeting took place in the context of the visit of the Romanian
    Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciuca, to the United Arab Emirates, between June 20-21.
    Aurescu expressed a strong interest in further developing and diversifying
    cooperation in areas of major importance to the two states, namely economy,
    trade, maritime and air transport, energy, IT&C, cyber security,
    agriculture and food security, environment and aerospace research. A bilateral
    governmental agreement on military cooperation and a memorandum of
    understanding have been signed between the Romanian Ministry of Transport and
    Infrastructure and the Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority.






    NATO. The United States said
    NATO is ready to defend Lithuania in the event of a Russian invasion. The US
    State Department emphasized that Washington firmly supports Article 5 of the
    North Atlantic Treaty stipulating that an attack on one is an attack on all.
    This is in response to Russia’s threats against Lithuania after this Baltic
    state banned the transit of EU sanctioned goods to Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave
    citing the EU ban imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to
    Radio Romania’s correspondent in Moscow, the EU ambassador in Moscow Markus
    Edler was summoned by the Russian foreign ministry over the ban, with the
    Russian side saying it violates EU commitments and escalates tensions in the
    area. Edler, who urged Moscow to solve the issue through diplomatic means,
    emphasised Lithuania was not taking unilateral measures, but imposing EU
    sanctions, with the movement of people and of goods that are not subject to
    sanctions continuing as usual.




    Poll. Three quarters of
    Romanians are worried about a possible economic crisis that may influence their
    financial situation, according to the latest edition of a barometer on risk
    perception and insurance culture in Romania conducted by UNSAR-IRES. 68% are
    most worried about the rising inflation rate, 64% about the war, 61% about
    fires and car accidents and 57% about the pandemic and sickness.




    Violence. In Romania,
    victims of domestic violence will benefit from social housing and temporary
    accommodation, based on a bill adopted by the Chamber of Deputies. According to
    the document, the houses are made available to the abused persons only until
    the completion of the settlement, as provided by law. Almost 85% of beatings or
    violence occur at home, and one in three protection orders is violated.
    According to a report by the Network for the Prevention and Combating of
    Violence against Women, the Romanian police registered almost 20,000 cases of
    domestic violence last year.




    Swimming. On Wednesday evening,
    the 17-year-old Romanian swimmer David Popovici won the 100m freestyle final at
    the FINA World Championships in Budapest. On Monday evening, Popovici had won
    the gold in 200m free, Romania’s first world title in men’s swimming. (MI)