Dressel withdraws from the 100 free of the World Cup and the great Popovici emerges

Caeleb Dressel, the fastest swimmer on the planet, withdrew this Tuesday from the 100-meter freestyle event at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest.

The disappearance of the American from the event that he dominated in 2017 and 2019, the

that consecrates the king of speed, was as disconcerting as the succession of events in the aquatic center of Budapest, next to the Danube, where the Romanian David Popovici, from 17 years old, threatens to seize the mostrenca crown.

Dressel was in fine form in the morning.

He swam the final qualifying heat of the 100 free in 47.95 seconds.

He showed no emotions, good or bad, after finishing his series and seeing the marker from the water that a young man had surpassed him.

In the penultimate series, just a few minutes earlier, David Popovici had swum faster: 47.60s.

That a young man eight years younger than him, who had just proclaimed himself champion of the 200 freestyle the night before, managed to swim the 100 meters in 47.60 seconds, was the event of the day.

Incidentally, it was a powerful alarm signal to Dressel's headquarters.

In championships that the United States aspired to monopolize, without the Russian sprinters, vetoed by the invasion of Ukraine, the confirmation of the Slavic prodigy presented the most unexpected of scenarios.

Against all odds, Dressel found himself second on the list of qualifiers for the afternoon's semi-finals.

But Dressel did not appear.

The news spread when the United States Swimming Federation released a statement attributed to team director Lindsay Mintenko: “Team USA has made the consensual decision with Caeleb, her coach and medical staff to remove him from the 100 free test due to medical reasons.

The team will determine his participation in the remaining tests this week.

Popovici said so on Monday, after swimming the second-fastest 200 free in history in a textile swimsuit, without the technological aid of rubber suits.

"I am the strongest," he declared.

The Romanian, who is into the going, must have felt a bit lonely on the starting block of the 100m semi-final, with no Dressel in sight.

A 200m swimmer by nature, like Phelps, when the Romanian swims the 100m he exhibits his power in the returns, in the second length, when his aerobic capacity gives him a greater energy reserve than born sprinters like Dressel.

In the semifinals he passed the wall in fourth position and came back in 24.32s.

Only the Australian Kyle Chalmers, among the sprinters of the last generation, has been able to come back faster.

If in the final in Tokyo he was seventh, in Budapest he appears as the absolute favorite.

His time in the semi-final, 47.13s, was a junior world record and more.

Only eight swimmers in history managed to go faster than this teenager from Bucharest who all experts see coming like a torpedo aimed at the waterline of the American and Australian power establishment.

Cesar Cielo, Alain Bernard, Caeleb Dressel, Cameron McEvoy, Eamon Sullivan, Kyle Chalmers, James Magnussen and Kliment Kolesnikov and Fred Bousquet.

A Brazilian, two French, a Russian, an American and four Australians now share with Popovici the 15 fastest 100 tests ever, all under 47.15s.

These World Cups will be remembered for the emergence of fabulous youngsters such as León Marchand, Thomas Ceccon and David Popovici.

They will also be remembered for Kristof Milak's new record in the 200 butterfly — he dropped from 1m 50.73s to 1m 50.34s on Tuesday — and for the withdrawal of Caeleb Dressel in the midst of a duel with Popovici, eight years his junior.

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