Melbourne 2022 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships - Day 2 — David Popovici of Romania celebrates after his Men's 100m Freestyle Semifinal on day two of the 2022 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

How tall is David Popovici compared to other swimmers?

Modified Mar 13, 2024 12:32 GMT

David Popovici is a Romanian swimmer who has taken the sport by storm since last year's World Championships. He is a versatile swimmer when it comes to pool length as he performs seamlessly across two different professional pool sizes, namely, the 25-meter short course and the 50-meter long course pools.

While everyone around the world loves the occasional swim and some may be passionate about the sport, professional swimmers are known to have a certain physique that enables them to be successful at the sport. One of the variables that can predict a successful professional swimmer is height.

Popovici stands at 1.9 meters tall, which translates to 6 feet 2 inches slightly shorter than the average height of a male swimmer of 1.93 meters.

Swimmer David Popovici poses during a FINA Sponsorship and new name Announcement at LUME on December 12, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Wayne Taylor/Getty Images for FINA)

Popovici vs Other Swimmers: Height

Basketball is probably the only other sport that relies on height more than swimming as it remains one of the most important factors affecting the performance of a professional swimmer. Compared to the average swimmer from 1908 to 1968, Popovici is taller by almost seven centimeters.

However, since then, the average height has almost increased by 10 centimeters, making David Popovici slightly shorter than average. The average height in the sport of swimming has just increased over time and it seems like the trend is here to stay. Male Olympic swimming gold medalist in Tokyo, 2021 averaged 6'3, while 6’2 was the average at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Here's how Popovici's height compares to some of the most successful swimmers of all time and prominent swimmers today:

David Popovici- 1.92 meters
Mark Spits- 1.83 meters
Michael Phelps- 1.93 meters
Ian Thorpe- 1.96 meters
Ryan Lochte- 1.88 meters
Caeleb Dressel- 1.91 meters
Adam Peaty- 1.91 meters
Ryan Murphy- 1.91 meters

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte of the United States compete in the second Semifinal of the Men's 200m Individual Medley on Day 5 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 10, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

The Swimming Physique

One may ask themselves why height is such an important factor in swimming. This question can be answered by looking at the science behind the sport.

All four strokes: freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, and breaststroke rely on the physical characteristics of the swimmer. The taller swimmer usually has longer limbs, hands and feet which all contribute to a faster swim.

A longer wingspan contributes to a longer stroke which pulls more water from underneath and boosts the swimmer's speed. A longer body moves smoothly through the water and has considerably less drag allowing the swimmer to keep the speed for longer.

Michael Phelps competes in the mens 100 meter butterfly final during day 2 of the Santa Clara International Grand Prix at George F. Haines International Swim Center on June 17, 2011 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The feet of a swimmer act as fins, therefore, longer feet give a tall swimmer a better kick.

Therefore, when it comes to swimming, it is important to keep in mind that some people are genetically more advantaged to perform better in the sport. For example, although Phelps was not the tallest swimmer, his wingspan was longer than his body and stood at a whopping 6 feet 7 inches!

David Popovici is just 18 years old, and biologically speaking, men can have growth spurts up to 20 or 22! So, he may be packing a few more centimeters in the future!

David Popovici of Team Romania prepares to compete in the Men's 100m Freestyle Final on day five of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships at Duna Arena on June 22, 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

David Popovici's career so far

After a massively successful run at the Junior Championships in his younger years and in 2022, Popovici went into the 2022 Long Course World Championships as a prospect. However, by the time he was done, he managed to win two gold medals in the 100 and 200 freestyle.

The same year, at the Short Course Worlds in Melbourne, he won a silver medal in the 200 freestyle behind South korean Hwang Sun-woo.