David Popovici And Ruta Meilutyte Among The Winners At The 2022 LEN Awards

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David Popovici: Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

David Popovici and Ruta Meilutyte have won the men’s and women’s pool swimming honours respectively at the 2022 LEN Awards.

With the public vote counting for 30% of the overall vote and LEN members and the technical committees making up the remaining 70%, Popovici was an overwhelming winner with 56.16% of the vote.

Kristof Milak, winner of the 100/200 fly double at the World Championships during which he lowered his WR in the latter before going on to repeat the double triumph at the Rome Europeans, was second with 22.71.

Thomas Ceccon, who dismantled Ryan Murphy’s 100 back WR in Budapest, got 13.79% followed by Leon Marchand (4.77) and Nicolo Martinenghi (2.56%).

At 17, Popovici became world and European champion in the 100 and 200 free.

The Romanian also took down the 100 free world record with his time of 46.86 slicing 0.05 from the mark of 46.91 that had stood to Cesar Cielo since the 2009 super-suited World Championships held in the very same Foro Italico.

Popovici also set a textile mark of 1:42.96 in the 200 in Rome, a time bettered only by Paul Biedermann‘s 1:42.00 and Michael Phelps‘ 1:42.96.

There were four golds at the European Juniors and three at the world event with Popovici bringing 2022 to a close with 200 free silver at short-course worlds.

Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania prepares to compete in the 100m Breaststroke Women Final during the FINA Swimming Short Course World Championships at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia, December 15th, 2022. Photo Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Meilutyte won world and European gold and bronze over 50 and 100 breast and ended the year with the 50br short-course world record of 28.37.

All that after she only started on the road back to international competition in December 2021 when she competed at the national championships after which she joined the Lithuania training camp in Tenerife.

Meilutyte had retired in May 2019, shortly after it was revealed she’d missed three doping tests in a 12-month period which ultimately led to a two-year suspension dating from July that same year.

She won her first LEN Award with 37.20% of the vote, less than 2% more than runner-up Sarah Sjostrom (35.11%) to halt the Swede’s run of four successive victories.

Marrit Steenbergen (18.75%) and Benedetta Pilato (8.93%) made up the rest of the voting.

In the open water, Gregorio Paltrinieri won the men’s vote with 63.79% ahead of Florian Wellbrock (15.64%) and Domenico Acerenza (9.54%).

Sharon van Rouwendaal topped the women’s category with 55.12% ahead of Leonie Beck (22%) and Giulia Gabbrielleschi (10.46%).

Jack Laugher and Chiara Pellacani won the men’s and women’s diving category respectively.

 

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