2026 European Swimming ChampionshipsMen’s 100 Freestyle — Semi-FinalsTop 8 Advancing To Final:In the semifinals of the men’s 100 free at the European Swimming Championships, Romanian superstar David Popovici charged to a massive 46.72 championship record swim, downing his own four-year-old mark of 46.86 from the 2022 edition of these championships. This swim also marks the 4th fastest performance ever in the event, and the 3rd quickest of his career. Popovici, racing out of the 2nd semifinal, opened up in 22.57, just seven hundredths of a second ahead of Egor Kornev in the heat at the first turn. Popovici now holds six of the 10 fastest performances in history in the men’s 100 freestyle. Prior to this season, the record hadn’t ever been below 48 seconds.