Australian swimming legend Ian Thorpe has declared Romanian sensation David Popovici the favourite for gold ahead of Kyle Chalmers in their highly anticipated 100m freestyle event at the World Shortcourse Championships this week.
Chalmers, the 2016 Olympic champion, and Popovici, the world record holder in the longcourse 100m event, will square off in a four-lap dash at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
Heats and semi-finals will take place on Wednesday in the 25-metre pool before the final on Thursday evening.
It’s a race that has generated no shortage of hype in Melbourne ahead of the first World Swimming Championships on Australian soil since 2007.
Chalmers holds the shortcourse world record and Popovici this week was quick to play the underdog card.
But Thorpe, who is in Melbourne this week for commentary commitments with Channel Nine, made the claim that Popovici will head into the race as the man to beat.
Channel Nine commentator Ian Thorpe at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre ahead of the World Shortcourse Championships.Credit:Scott McNaughton
“I put David as the favourite at the moment,” Thorpe told the Herald and The Age. “Because he is a young swimmer, he can back up from meet to meet. It’ll be really tight.”
Thorpe said he hoped his comments would spur Chalmers into action in front of his home crowd.
Competition begins on Tuesday evening and will run until Sunday, with 750 athletes from more than 160 countries vying for medals and prizemoney of more than $3 million.
“Kyle loves a crowd,” Thorpe said. “It might motivate Kyle. I may just mention that to him after the race. I’m not going to discount ‘King Kyle’ in any way. I’d be able to answer the question a bit better after the semi-finals.
Popovici and Chalmers will go head-to-head on Thursday evening. Credit:Getty
“We know how Kyle swims. This is one of his first match-ups against David Popovici since [the latter] became the world record holder.
“He’s up against probably the most exciting up-and-coming swimmer in the world. Kyle is good off his turns and he’s had a similar season to what Popovici has had. On top of that, he’s also had Commonwealth Games. They’ve had a heavy schedule.”
Chalmers has admired Popovici’s rapid rise from afar, ever since the pair crossed paths at the Tokyo Olympics. Chalmers won a silver medal in Tokyo, while Popovici, who was just 16 at the time, finished seventh. But Chalmers has a warning for Popovici.
“When the eyes come on you, it becomes a whole different race. He is going to have the weight of a nation on his shoulders now,” Chalmers told the Herald and The Age.
‘I’m not going to discount ‘King Kyle’ in any way’
Ian Thorpe on Kyle Chalmers’ chances in the men’s 100m freestyle
“He has grown massively in popularity and fame over this last little period and the pressure is always a challenge to deal with. You get used to it eventually, but initially, it becomes a challenge … being stopped and known by everyone and everyone wanting to talk swimming with you.
“You go from being an unknown young kid to being a national icon very quickly, so it will be interesting to follow his journey over this next little period and see how things go.
“He is a really nice kid. We are going to have some seriously good battles … and I am excited to have the world record [holder] in a race alongside of me.”
Thorpe was blown away when he saw Popovici take 0.05 seconds off Cesar Cielo’s 100m world record that had stood since 2009. That time was set during swimming’s supersuit era.
“He’s an incredibly exciting young swimmer,” said Thorpe of Popovici. “He broke a world record that has been sitting there that everyone has been wondering whether anyone can get under that time. Everyone has hovered around 47 seconds. He took a big slice off it.”
Chalmers and Popovici will get the chance to square off in a longcourse race next year at the World Championships in Fukuoka before a showdown at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
FINA World Swimming Championships on Channel 9 and 9Now from 7.30pm (AEDT), starting Tuesday, December 13.
