David Popovici, Luke Hobson Leading Men’s 200 Freestyle in World-Record Pursuit
A dramatic Olympic final came down to the last strokes before David Popovici claimed his long-sought Olympic gold. The Romanian star was still only 19 years old but seemingly a veteran of such high-stakes finals as he touched out Great Britain’s Matt Richards by two hundredths, with American Luke Hobson a further five hundredths behind for bronze while Great Britain’s Duncan Scott was the unlucky fourth-place finisher, just missing a return to the Olympic podium.
For Popovici, the win came after a tumultuous two-year stretch. In 2022, he was the world swimmer of the year, having broken the world record in the 100 free and becoming the first man under 1:43 in the 200 free without the aid of polyurethane bodysuits. Even going under 1:44 was unusual, with no swimmer having been that quick in a decade. But at the following year’s World Championships, Popovici surrendered a huge lead in the 200 free final and ended up missing the podium, with Richards emerging as the surprising world champion. Popovici was not close to his best times in Paris, but he did enough to win 200-meter gold and then earn bronze in the 100 free.
But for the next 11 months, the world’s dominant 200 freestyler was Hobson, with the 22-year-old firing off stellar performances in all three courses. At the Short Course World Championships in December, Hobson twice broke the 200 free world record in that format, surpassing a mark held by Paul Biedermann since 2009. Hobson first set the record leading off the U.S. men’s 800 free relay, and then he eclipsed that time in a dominant performance in the individual final.
Luke Hobson — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Three months after that, Hobson shattered his own record in the 200-yard free on the way to a third consecutive NCAA title, and in long course, he put on a show at U.S. Nationals. He has at times been known for his closing speed, such as in the Olympic final when he jumped from seventh at the halfway point to nearly stealing the gold medal, but Hobson opted for an aggressive approach in the qualifying meet. He was out in 50.05 and never seriously challenged on the way to a time of 1:43.73.
Right away, that 1:43 dropped jaws as he became only the fifth man to swim inside the 1:44-barrier. The only swimmers to ever go faster are Biedermann, Michael Phelps, Popovici and Yannick Agnel. But Hobson’s stay atop the world rankings lasted for only three weeks before Popovici responded with a time of 1:43.64 at the European U23 Championships, the fifth-fastest mark of his career but a time no one other active swimmer has beaten.
Biedermann’s record of 1:42.00 remains the white whale every mid-distance freestyler has spent the last decade-and-a-half chasing. There has been only one moment when that record looked vulnerable in recent years, when Popovici broke through in 2022, but the times quickly returned to their usual levels the following year.
Popovici and Hobson look like the current favorites for 200 free gold at the Singapore World Championships, and while it’s highly unlikely the world record is threatened this year, Hobson spoke openly at Nationals about the possibility of eventually reaching that target. Reflecting on his speedy opening split, Hobson said, “If I’m trying to go 42-low, that’s what it takes.”
As for the world title race coming up, the other central players will include Richards and Germany’s Lukas Martens, the 400 freestyle Olympic champion who became the first man ever under 3:40 in that event earlier this year. Martens is not known as much for his 200 free abilities, but he swam in the Olympic final and sat in first place throughout before fading to a tie for fifth on the last 50. Prior to Hobson and Popovici going 1:43, Martens held the world’s fastest time for 2025 at 1:44.25, and his best time of 1:44.14 ranks him No. 8 in history.
Two other men have broken 1:45 this year, and both will be making their senior-level international debut. Gabriel Jett finished second to Hobson at the U.S. selection meet in 1:44.70 while Ed Sommerville was the Australian titlist in 1:44.93. Behind them in the rankings sit South Korea’s Hwang Sun-Woo, a frequent international contender in this event, at 1:45.03. Scott and James Guy tied for the British title in the event, with both men clocking 1:45.08, and with Richards pre-selected for the individual event in Singapore, it’s still unclear if Scott or Guy will be the second British representative.
Another possible contender for this race is China’s Pan Zhanle, the world-record holder and Olympic champion in the 100 free. Pan flamed out of the 200 at the Olympics, his prelims time of 1:49.47 only good for 22nd place and four seconds off his best time, but a 1:44 performance is certainly within his capabilities under the right conditions.
That said, 1:44s might not get the job done anymore. Popovici was the first to show this generation that the legendary 200 free world record was not untouchable, and now Hobson has joined him in rarified air, with Richards, Martens and others awaiting their chance in the World Championships final.
