David Popovici is something of a speed magnet that draws a crowd into uncharted waters, and today he had close company well below the 47sec mark, but the Midas Touch did not desert him: the European crown was his once more, for a third straight time.

The record run belongs yet to Alex Popov, who claimed five 100m free titles: 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000. There were also silvers in 1999 and 2002. Popov also holds the records for the most number of European swimming titles ever hauled: 21. Today, Sarah Sjöström got to 18 (16 of them solo events, which is a record in its own right):

Sarah Sjöström Takes First Gold As A Mum - & 18th Euro Title Of Career

The Swedish ace now has 18 golds, 7 silvers and 4 bronzes, for a total of 29 honours at the European summer showcase since she lifted the 100m ’fly title at 15 back in 2008.

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

So, that other pioneering European sprinter with 'Popov' in his name, Popovici's run looks like this:

• Popovici 2022: 46.86 - Rome
• Popovici 2024: 46.88
• Popovici 2026: 46.56 - Paris - the third-fastest ever and just 0.16sec shy of Pan Zhanle's astonishing 46.40 here in Paris two years ago for Olympic gold.

Of the three years, this one is the first to feature more than one man inside 47. And ... there were three, so - the first sub-47 podium is in the book of outcomes.

Consistent. But 'just' 0.16... etc? Perhaps the wrong word. As we all know, phenomenal as 46.56 is, it belongs to the 3m deep tank in which the European Championships are being staged here in Saint-Dennis opposite the Stade De France. That 46.40 belongs to a turbulent tank 2m deep that was installed across the other side of town during a Games of fewer world records than might have been the case, and slower times than might have been the case, breaststroke events particularly affected in keeping with the nature of the most resistant of strokes.

Just how extraordinary in this circumstances that 46.40 was, you can read our remind yourself of here:

Pandemonium In The Sprint Ranks: Dissecting An Inscrutable 46.40 - Part 1

In the tussle between those who roar out and hold on and those who hold fire and then spark when hunting down those who roar out, there had never been a swimmer capable of racing to the turn inside 22.5 and returning inside 24.5. There is one now - and how!

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Pandemonium In The Sprint Ranks: Dissecting An Inscrutable 46.40 - Part 2

The timewarp of the Paris 2024 100m freestyle: almost 100 years passed before we witnessed victory by more than a second; and almost 50 years passed before we witnessed a World 100m free record fall by 0.4 or more in an Olympic final - or at all

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Meanwhile, Popovici, still 21, and Co keep plugging away at lightening speed. At 46.56 seconds, he was just 0.05sec shy of the European record he set for gold at the World Championships in Singapore last year. The Paris 2026 Final:

The splits keep telling the same story, the one I describe in those analysis features above, including thoughts around this:

• under-22.5 out, under-24.5 back

Popovici repeated the feat again today for a third straight title, 2022-2024-2026. And so did Kristof Milak, of Hungary, for bronze. Official 'neutral' Egor Kornev did not, which is, perhaps no surprise given his wild 22.06 to the turn.

Kornev, 50 'fly champion yesterday, is not fifth-fastest ever, with his 46.74, Milak now a member of the sub-47 club in this race:

Popovici said:

"It was a very, very close race. Times were faster than at almost any edition of the past Olympic Games. I am glad that European swimming has reached such a high level, and congratulations to all my opponents because we all pushed extremely hard. Personally, I am happy that I succeeded in defending my title. In general, it is a little easier to chase a title than to defend it, so I am all the more proud of myself for defending it. I put a certain amount of pressure on myself to retain my European champion title, which I have now defended at three consecutive editions.

'On the final 25 metres. I felt that I had to overtake the Russian. I knew he was better than me over the first half of the race; that was clear. I knew I had to stay calm and not swim in a panic, because that only slows you down. Survival swimming consumes much more energy. So I just stuck to my race and made up ground on the final stretch. Now I have to work on combining a fast first half and a good start with the second half, where I come on strong, the way I know to do it. I will continue to have this hunger, but I will shift my priorities a little."

Popovici said he would have liked to set a world record, but is confident it will come:

"The world record has to come naturally, organically, not just because I want it. Now that I know exactly what I still have to work on, I am even closer to it."

The History File below ...