Popovich created the second fastest man s 100-meter freestyle in history, which triggered the expectation of arm wrestling with Pan Zhanle

On the 28th local time, on the last day of the 2025 European U23 Swimming Championships held in Samorin, 20-year-old Romanian teenager David Popovich set a new European record of 46.71 seconds in the men's 100m freestyle final, which is the second fastest speed in the event in history, second only to the new world record of 46.40 seconds set by Chinese star Pan Zhanle when he won the 2024 Paris Olympic final.

Romanian teenager David Popovich set a new European record of 46.71 seconds in the men's 100m freestyle final, another outstanding performance of the night was that Popovich's second half was 23.98 seconds, making him the only player in history to complete the last 50 meters in 24 seconds. Popovich previously maintained the fastest two second halfs with 24.05 and 24.09 in the 2022 and 2024 European Championships respectively.

This result has sparked expectations for Popovich and Pan Zhanle to stage a strong dialogue at the upcoming 2025 World Swimming Championships, which will be held in Singapore from July 11 to August 3. After all, both swimmers are only 20 years old at the moment, and a head-on battle between them may take ten years.

Chinese Rising Star Pan Zhanle

Although Popovich and Pan Zhanle are relatively young, they now have 9 of the fastest 12 games in the history of men's 100-meter freestyle. No one among the top 50 players in this list is as young as Popovich and Pan Zhanle when they make great achievements. The following are the top 15 results of the men's 100m freestyle historical rankings, name, time taken (unit seconds), year at the competition and age at that time

1 Pan Zhanle46.4 2024 19

2 David Popovich46.71 2025 20

3 Pan Zhanle46.8 2024 19

4 David Popovich46.86 2022 17

5 David Popovich46.88 2024 19

6 Cesar Cilo46.91 2009 22

7 Pan Zhanle46.92 2024 20

8 Alan Bernard46.94 2009 25

9Caleb Drexel46.96 2019 22

10Pan Zhanle46.97 2023 19

10Pan Zhanle46.97 2024 19

12 David Popovich46.98 2022 17

13Jack Alexei46.99 2025 22

14Caleb Drexel47.02 2021 24

15Caleb McEvoy47.04 2016 21

16Emon Sullivan47.05 2008 22

Australian swimmer Zhang Boss shook hands with Pan Zhanle to send congratulations after the final of the 100-meter freestyle in the Paris Olympics.

data shows that Popovich is already 7,591 days old when he created the second best score in the men's 100m freestyle history. When the men's 100m freestyle final of the 2024 Paris Olympics held on August 1 last year set a new world record, Pan Zhanle was three days away from his 20th birthday, which means he was only 7,306 days old when he set a record. While there are some other 20-year-olds on the list, none are as young as Pan Zhanle or Popovich now. Australian player James Magnusson, who ranked 22nd in the men's 100m freestyle history with 47.10 seconds, was 7644 days old when setting the record. Chris Gilliano, an American player who ranked 42nd in the men's 100m freestyle history with 47.25 seconds, was 7664 days old when setting the record.

Some analysts believe that although the men's 100m freestyle is not a veteran-led competition, most elite swimmers achieved their best results at the age of 21 and 22. This means that, by historical standards, Popovich and Pan Zhanle are in their heyday.