Record-breaker Popovici into Euro freestyle final, Martinenghi wins 100m breaststroke

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Romania's David Popovici reacts after winning the second semifinal of the men's 100m freestyle event at the LEN European Aquatics Championships. (AFP)
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Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi in action during the men's 100m breastsoke final event at the LEN European Aquatics Championships on Aug. 12, 2022 in Rome. (AFP)
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Updated 13 August 2022
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Record-breaker Popovici into Euro freestyle final, Martinenghi wins 100m breaststroke

  • After Friday’s display Popovici will be hot favorite to continue what has been a golden summer in which he also won three European junior titles in his home town of Bucharest

ROME: David Popovici continued his dream summer of swimming on Friday by easing into the 100 meters freestyle final at the European Swimming Championships with a new European record of 46.98 seconds, while world champion Nicolo Martinenghi won the 100m breaststroke.

Teen sensation Popovici looked in fine form earlier on Friday when he easily won his heat and delighted fans by finishing over a second ahead of Italian Lorenzo Zazzeri.

Only two other swimmers managed to dip under 48sec, Kristof Milak and Alessandro Miressi in the other semis, but both were some way off 17-year-old Romanian Popovici.

“It’s a fine route to the final and a step toward the right direction. It feels normal for me to go step-by-step and keep improving my time,” said Popovici.

Popovici, who in June became the first man to complete the 100-200m freestyle double at the World Championships in nearly 50 years, will now compete in Saturday’s final.

After Friday’s display he will be hot favorite to continue what has been a golden summer in which he also won three European junior titles in his home town of Bucharest.

Martinenghi was a double gold winner at the Budapest worlds and got the home crowd roaring in Rome with a time of 58.26sec in his final, beating countryman Federico Poggio by 0.72sec.

Andrius Sidlauskas took the bronze for Lithuania.

“This victory means a lot to me. This season has been a very long one and I’m not in my best shape, but it was important to continue winning,” Martinenghi said.

The 23-year-old’s win was one of four golds for Italy in Friday’s evening session at the Foro Italico.

Margherita Panziera won the 200m backstroke, Thomas Ceccon claimed the honors in the 50m butterfly and Simona Quadarella won European gold in the 800m freestyle for the third straight time.

However, the Italians finished second in the 4x100m medley relay, leading for most of the way only to finish nearly two seconds behind the Netherlands and settling for silver.

Ukraine’s Marta Fiedina followed up on her artistic swimming team technical gold by winning the solo technical discipline, pipping local hope Linda Cerutti in the final moments.

Also double gold winner at the recent worlds, Fiedina was the last to take to the pool and won over the judges to earn a score of 92.6394, 1.7555 points ahead of Cerutti who had been leading since finishing her routine as fifth of 21 participants.

“I really gave everything I could at this moment. This is my best performance in Technical Solo this year, for sure,” said the champion.

Giorgio Minisini won the European championships’ inaugural men’s edition of the solo technical with a score of 85.7033, the Italian finishing over six points ahead of Spain’s Fernando Diaz Del Rio Soto.


Kane scores as Bayern deliver comeback romp over Leipzig

Updated 17 January 2026
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Kane scores as Bayern deliver comeback romp over Leipzig

  • The victory restores Bayern’s 11-point lead atop the ladder over second-placed Borussia Dortmund
  • Leipzig took a first-half lead through Romulo, but Bayern kicked into gear after the break

LEIPZIG, Germany: Harry Kane scored his 21st goal of the Bundesliga season as Bayern Munich came from behind to win 5-1 at RB Leipzig on Saturday.
The victory restores Bayern’s 11-point lead atop the ladder over second-placed Borussia Dortmund, while continuing their record-breaking campaign.
Unbeaten Bayern have dropped just four points on their way to a record-equalling tally of 50 after 18 games. Bayern’s total of 71 goals scored is also a record at this stage of a German league season.
Leipzig took a first-half lead through Romulo, but Bayern kicked into gear after the break, Serge Gnabry, Kane, Jonathan Tah, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Michael Olize all scoring.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said Leipzig were “twice as good as we were” in the opening half, adding “but in the second-half — my god, the boys delivered.
“We weren’t afraid and we really went for it.”
Leipzig goalscorer Romulo said “we played 75 minutes really on top, then I don’t know what happened, we turned off our minds. We have to learn something out of that.”
Leipzig were strong early and broke through after 20 minutes when Romulo snuck past Bayern’s Tah to poke in an Antonio Nusa pass from close range.
The hosts were undone in the simplest fashion just after half-time. Dayot Upamecano picked Christoph Baumgartner’s pocket and fed Gnabry, who guided the ball into the bottom corner.
Bayern took the lead after 67 minutes, once again thanks to a Leipzig mistake.
Olize’s floated cross looked harmless until Ridle Baku lost his footing, allowing an unmarked Kane time and space to blast home.
With Leipzig’s resistance broken, Tah, Pavlovic and Olize all scored in the final 10 minutes, while Jamal Musiala returned late off the bench after a six-month injury absence.

- Can rescues Dortmund -
Earlier, an Emre Can penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time saved Borussia Dortmund’s blushes in a 3-2 home win against lowly St. Pauli.
In the dying moments, VAR found a foul on Germany forward Maximilian Beier, bringing Dortmund captain Can to the spot.
“What a rollercoaster ride,” Can told Sky Germany.
“We need to do much better to settle things down and to convert our chances,” he added.
The hosts overcame a poor first half when Julian Brandt tapped in from close range just before the break. Having created the opener, Karim Adeyemi gave Dortmund a two-goal buffer in the 54th minute, converting a Fabio Silva assist.
Rock-bottom St. Pauli had won just once since September but fought back into the game when James Sands and Ricky-Jade Jones scored inside 10 minutes midway through the second half to stun the hosts.
Deep into stoppage time, Jones caught Beier on the edge of the penalty area, allowing Can to convert nervelessly from the spot.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim’s Wouter Burger scored the only goal in a 1-0 home win over flailing Bayer Leverkusen to climb past Leipzig into third in the table.
Burger swung in an excellent free-kick after nine minutes to give the hosts the three points.
“That was an important one,” Burger said of his free-kick. “I was practicing them a bit this morning.”
Relegation candidates last season, Hoffenheim are on track to qualify for Europe’s top competition for just the second time in their history, having last done so under now-Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann in 2017/18.
Leverkusen have now lost four of their past six, falling three points behind the Champions League placings.
Cologne beat Mainz 2-1 at home, Wolfsburg played out a 1-1 home draw with Heidenheim and hosts Hamburg were held to a scoreless draw by Borussia Moenchengladbach.