Romanian Athletes High Diving Champions at European Aquatics in Rome

Romanian athletes Constantin Popovici and Catalin Preda won the gold and silver medals at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome.

Popovici entered history as the first European champion in this event, winning with a total of 455.70 points. Preda, who led after the first three rounds of this event, held on 18, 19, and 20 August, finally took second place, with 436.20 points.

This gold is very special to me. I was the best one today. I always feel a lot of pressure every time because my dives are always very hard. I focused a lot, and today I did my best dives. I have known Alessandro for 10 years and Rome has been in my heart since the 2009 Worlds when I competed in the 10m platform. I am not too emotional right now, too much adrenaline, still but I am happy to have made history today. Our sport is growing year after year, we even have junior competitions now so the next step should be the Olympic games sooner or later.

Constantin Popovici

The Italian Alessandro De Rose completed the podium with 416.45 points.

Popovici performed a 6.0 challenging dive, earning 8.0s and 8.5s en route to an evening-high 147 points that sealed the victory.

The Romanian athletes showed us some formidable performances this year. From David Popovici, the 17-year swimming sensation, Constantin Popovici and Catalin Preda- high diving champions to Catalin Chirila- canoe champion, Romanian athletes broke records after records. They are the ones who deserve all the applause because they are taking Romania to the highest international charts.

Photo source: European Aquatics Roma 2022