{"id":634784,"date":"2026-01-15T02:34:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T09:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=634784"},"modified":"2026-01-15T02:34:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T09:34:46","slug":"david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"David Popovici &#038; Marrit Steenbergen Named European Aquatics Athletes of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>David Popovici &amp; Marrit Steenbergen Named European Aquatics Athletes of the Year<\/h4>\n<p><strong>David Popovici<\/strong> and <strong>Marrit Steenbergen<\/strong> have been voted male and female Athlete of the Year in the 2025 European Aquatics Awards.<\/p>\n<p>Popovici got 37.94% of the vote ahead of <strong>Leon Marchand<\/strong> (31.52%) and <strong>Hubert K\u00f3s<\/strong> (16.57%) followed by <strong>Lukas M\u00e4rtens <\/strong>and <strong>Maxime Grousset<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Popovici began a swashbuckling summer at the European U23 Championships in Samorin. There he lowered his European 100 free record to 46.71, taking 0.15 from his standard of 46.86 from the 2022 European Championships in Rome.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_618814\" style=\"width: 293px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-618814\" data-attachment-id=\"618814\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ranking-the-top-mens-performances-of-2025-leon-marchand-shines-again-with-200-im-world-record\/2025-world-champs-singapore-tues-pm15\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-world-champs-singapore-tues-pm15.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1800,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;emily cameron&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1753836508&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;emily cameron&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1600&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"2025-world-champs-singapore-tues-pm15\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;David Popovici celebrates his gold medal in the 200 Freestyle podium&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-world-champs-singapore-tues-pm15-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-world-champs-singapore-tues-pm15-1024x683.jpg\" class=\" wp-image-618814\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-world-champs-singapore-tues-pm15-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"david popovici\" width=\"283\" height=\"202\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-618814\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron<\/p><\/div>\n<p>He won the 200 in 1:43.64 and was third in the 50 in 21.86, the second fastest of his career.<\/p>\n<p>Weeks later he arrived in Singapore for the World Championships where the 200 free was up first. There he made up a deficit of 0.65 on <strong>Luke Hobson<\/strong> at the final turn to go past the American for victory in 1:43.53.<\/p>\n<p>The Romanian dipped inside 47 once more when he went 46.84 in the semis before coming from fourth at halfway in the final to take the title in 46.51 for another European record and the second-fastest time in history behind <strong>Pan Zhanle\u2019s<\/strong> 46.40 world record.<\/p>\n<p>It also saw Popovici replicate the 100\/200 double he secured at the Budapest worlds in 2022.<\/p>\n<h3>Steenbergen&#8217;s Sustained Excellence<\/h3>\n<p>Steenbergen had a stellar year in both long and short-course competition.<\/p>\n<p>The Netherlands swimmer garnered 36.29% of the total vote ahead of <strong>Simona Quadarella<\/strong> (24.48%) and Ruta Meilutyte (16.34%) followed by <strong>Anna Elendt<\/strong> and <strong>Roos Vanotterdijk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In Singapore, Steenbergen came from joint third at halfway in the 100 free to go past the field and take the title in 52.55.<\/p>\n<p>That followed an eye-watering performance in the 4x100m freestyle final where she dived in on the anchor leg with the Netherlands in eighth place. Out in 24.31 and back in 27.33, Steenbergen\u2019s 51.64 split was the fastest in the field and propelled the quartet to the bronze medal.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_534210\" style=\"width: 287px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-534210\" data-attachment-id=\"534210\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/worlds-at-18-swims-and-counting-marrit-steenbergen-relishes-busy-schedule\/20rd-world-aquatics-championships-fukuoka-2023-27\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230723_AMas_AM51728.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2400,1600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Andrea Masini \\\/ Deepbluemedia \\\/ Insidefoto&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 9&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Marrit Steenbergen of rde Nerderlands competes in rde Women&#039;s Medley 200m Heats during rde 20rd World Aquatics Championships at rde Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 23rd, 2023.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1690076482&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Andrea Masini \\\/ Deepbluemedia \\\/ Insidefoto&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;600&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;4000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.000625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;20rd World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"20rd World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;7-30-23&lt;br \/&gt;\nMarrit Steenbergen of rde Netherlands competes in rde Women&#8217;s Medley 200m Heats during rde 20rd World Aquatics Championships at rde Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 23rd, 2023. Sport, Swimming, FINA, Aquatics, World Championships, World Aquatics, Fukuoka, 2023, Fukuoka 2023, Marrit Steenbergen of rde Nerderlands, Women&#8217;s Medley 200m Heats&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Marrit Steenbergen; Photo Courtesy: Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230723_AMas_AM51728-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230723_AMas_AM51728-1024x683.jpg\" class=\" wp-image-534210\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230723_AMas_AM51728-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"Marrit Steenbergen of rde Nerderlands competes in rde Women's Medley 200m Heats during rde 20rd World Aquatics Championships at rde Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 23rd, 2023.\" width=\"277\" height=\"198\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-534210\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marrit Steenbergen; Photo Courtesy: Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Steenbergen travelled to Lublin, Poland, for the European Short Course Championships where she won five golds and set five European records.<\/p>\n<p>She began day three by winning the women\u2019s 100m medley in 56.26, eclipsing the European mark of 56.41 set by Hungary\u2019s <strong>Katinka Hosszu<\/strong> in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Ten minutes after her medal ceremony she added 200m freestyle gold in 1:50.33, lowering the 2017 mark of 1:50.43 established by <strong>Sarah Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Two days later Steenbergen claimed another golden double. First, she won the 200IM in 2:01.83, bettering the 2:01.86 ER set by Hosszu in 2014 and just 0.20 shy of <strong>Gretchen Walsh\u2019s<\/strong> world record.<\/p>\n<p>She then took the 100 free title in 50.42 to slice 0.16 from Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m\u2019s continental mark of 50.58 that had stood since 2017.<\/p>\n<p>On the final day she led off the Netherlands 4x50m medley squad with an opening backstroke leg in 25.47 to take 0.02 off the European record set in the opening individual race of the final session by Italy\u2019s <strong>Sara Curtis<\/strong>. With that she guided to quartet to victory and her fifth gold.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Popovici &amp; Marrit Steenbergen Named European Aquatics Athletes of the Year David Popovici and Marrit Steenbergen have been voted male and female Athlete of the Year in the 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7575,"featured_media":594013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122074],"tags":[69488,128885,74061,58437,124556,25129,77336,130679,101190,52048,77661,89833,131053,26448,132733,32196,40417],"class_list":["post-634784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-europe","tag-anna-elendt","tag-david-popovici","tag-european-aquatics","tag-gretchen-walsh","tag-hubert-kos","tag-katinka-hosszu","tag-leon-marchand","tag-lukas-martens","tag-luke-hobson","tag-marrit-steenbergen","tag-maxime-grousset","tag-pan-zhanle","tag-roos-vanotterdijk","tag-ruta-meilutyte","tag-sara-curtis","tag-sarah-sjostrom","tag-simona-quadarella"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Popovici &amp; Steenbergen Win European Aquatics Awards<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"David Popovici and Marrit Steenbergen have been voted male and female Athlete of the Year in the 2025 European Aquatics Awards.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"David Popovici &amp; Marrit Steenbergen Named European Aquatics Athletes of the Year\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David Popovici and Marrit Steenbergen have been voted male and female Athlete of the Year in the 2025 European Aquatics Awards.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f55ce46c708d9bd9c8562ba7ba18dab1\"},\"headline\":\"David Popovici &#038; Marrit Steenbergen Named European Aquatics Athletes of the Year\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/\"},\"wordCount\":513,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Anna Elendt\",\"David Popovici\",\"European Aquatics\",\"Gretchen Walsh\",\"Hubert Kos\",\"Katinka Hosszu\",\"Leon Marchand\",\"Lukas Martens\",\"Luke Hobson\",\"Marrit Steenbergen\",\"Maxime Grousset\",\"Pan Zhanle\",\"Roos Vanotterdijk\",\"Ruta Meilutyte\",\"Sara Curtis\",\"Sarah Sjostrom\",\"Simona Quadarella\"],\"articleSection\":[\"-Home Slider\",\"Europe\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/\",\"name\":\"Popovici & Steenbergen Win European Aquatics Awards\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"David Popovici and Marrit Steenbergen have been voted male and female Athlete of the Year in the 2025 European Aquatics Awards.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"David Popovici of Romania celebrates after winning the gold medal in the swimming 200m Freestyle Men Final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Defense Arena in Paris (France), July 29, 2024.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"David Popovici &#038; Marrit Steenbergen Named European Aquatics Athletes of the Year\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f55ce46c708d9bd9c8562ba7ba18dab1\",\"name\":\"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22eeaf964be26f9a07c38ad4ef4be357?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22eeaf964be26f9a07c38ad4ef4be357?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/SwimmingWorld.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/lizbyrnes\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Popovici & Steenbergen Win European Aquatics Awards","description":"David Popovici and Marrit Steenbergen have been voted male and female Athlete of the Year in the 2025 European Aquatics Awards.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"David Popovici & Marrit Steenbergen Named European Aquatics Athletes of the Year","og_description":"David Popovici and Marrit Steenbergen have been voted male and female Athlete of the Year in the 2025 European Aquatics Awards.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/"},"author":{"name":"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f55ce46c708d9bd9c8562ba7ba18dab1"},"headline":"David Popovici &#038; Marrit Steenbergen Named European Aquatics Athletes of the Year","datePublished":"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/"},"wordCount":513,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg","keywords":["Anna Elendt","David Popovici","European Aquatics","Gretchen Walsh","Hubert Kos","Katinka Hosszu","Leon Marchand","Lukas Martens","Luke Hobson","Marrit Steenbergen","Maxime Grousset","Pan Zhanle","Roos Vanotterdijk","Ruta Meilutyte","Sara Curtis","Sarah Sjostrom","Simona Quadarella"],"articleSection":["-Home Slider","Europe"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/","name":"Popovici & Steenbergen Win European Aquatics Awards","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-15T09:34:46+00:00","description":"David Popovici and Marrit Steenbergen have been voted male and female Athlete of the Year in the 2025 European Aquatics Awards.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"David Popovici of Romania celebrates after winning the gold medal in the swimming 200m Freestyle Men Final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Defense Arena in Paris (France), July 29, 2024."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-popovici-marrit-steenbergen-named-european-aquatics-athletes-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"David Popovici &#038; Marrit Steenbergen Named European Aquatics Athletes of the Year"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f55ce46c708d9bd9c8562ba7ba18dab1","name":"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22eeaf964be26f9a07c38ad4ef4be357?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22eeaf964be26f9a07c38ad4ef4be357?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/SwimmingWorld.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/lizbyrnes\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"David Popovici: Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala, Deepbluemedia","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240729_GSca_GS37153.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-2F8s","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7575"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634784"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":634785,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634784\/revisions\/634785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}