Constantin Popovici (born 2 October 1988) is a Romanian platform diver. In 2019, he became the first Romanian to achieve a first-place finish at a stop of the

Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, established in 2009 and created by Red Bull GmbH, Red Bull, is an annual international series of Diving (sport), cliff diving events in which a limited number of competitors determine the Cliff Diving ...

. He is the 2022 European champion in the 27 metre high dive. He has won multiple medals as part of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series and he won the bronze medal in the 27 metre high dive event at the

Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival The Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival was a FINA-organized international aquatics competition spanning the disciplines of open water swimming, diving, and high diving, which took place from 15 to 20 December 2021 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab ...

in 2021. For the 10 metre platform event at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, he placed twenty-third overall.

Background

Popovici is a member of CSA Steaua Bucuresti Diving Club and is coached and trained by Avasiloaie Florin.

Career

2008: Olympic debut

Popovici represented

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

at the

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, where he competed for the 10 metre platform event. He placed twenty-third out of thirty divers in the preliminary round, with a total score of 392.30, after six successive attempts.

2019

As part of the

2019 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series The 2019 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series was the 11th season of the Red Bull-sponsored international cliff diving series. The series began on 13 April in El Nido, Philippines, with the final event taking place on 14 September in Bilbao, Spain ...

, Popovici won the gold medal at the stop held in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in May, marking the first time in the history of the

that a Romanian achieved a first-place finish.Strobl, Katrin (21 October 2020)
"Iffland stretches winning streak as Popovici takes maiden victory"
''

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

''. Retrieved 19 July 2022.

2021–2022

In the third round of competition of the 2021 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series stop held in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

in September, Popovici earned four tens and won the silver medal, finishing ahead of bronze medalist

Alessandro De Rose Alessandro De Rose (born 2 July 1992) is an Italian high diver. De Rose was born in Cosenza, Italy. He competed for Italy at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan. On 23 July 2017 De Rose won the men's title at Italian stop of the Red ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and behind

Gary Hunt Gary Hunt (born 11 June 1984), also known as Roger Gary Hunt, is an elite sports diver, specialising in cliff or high diving, and is the 2019 World champion in high diving at World Aquatics Championships event, where he holds the championship r ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

.Heaney, Steven (12 September 2021)
"Multiple new records set at cliff diving World Series in Mayo"
''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...

''. Retrieved 16 July 2022. On the first day of high diving competition at the

, held in December 2021 in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, he was leading in the 27 metre event with a score of 210.60 points."Popovici leads stellar men's High Diving field during day one action at the FINA Aquatics Festival"
''

FINA World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

''. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022. The second and final day, he won the bronze medal in the event, achieving a mark of 432.00 points and scoring just 4.90 points behind gold medalist in the event

Aidan Heslop Aidan Heslop (born 18 April 2002) is a British diver and high diver who competes internationally representing Wales and Great Britain. In 2024 he won gold in the men's high dive at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships. At the 2018 Commonwea ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

(20 December 2021)
"FINA High Diving Qualifier 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's High Dive Round 4 Detailed Results"
''

Omega Timing Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''Louis Brandt et Fils'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. At the stop of the 2022 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series held in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France in June, Popovici won the bronze medal with a score of 432.90 points, rounding out the podium with gold medalist

Cătălin Preda Cătălin-Petru Preda (born 29 June 1991) is a Romanian diver and high diver. He was the first man to win a silver medal in a high diving event at a LEN European Aquatics Championships, winning the silver medal in the 27-metre high dive at the ...

, also of Romania, and Gary Hunt of France.Mădălina, Nănuț (19 June 2022)
"Românii au luat cu asalt podiumul la etapa a doua a Red Bull Cliff Diving"
(in Romanian). ''007sport.ro''. Retrieved 15 July 2022. The following month, he placed 21st in the 10 metre platform event at the

2022 World Aquatics Championships The 2022 World Aquatics Championships, the 19th edition of the FINA World Aquatics Championships, were held in Budapest, Hungary, from 17 June to 3 July 2022. These championships included five disciplines, with high diving not staged for this edi ...

, held at

Danube Arena The Danube Arena (in Hungarian: ''Duna Aréna'', unofficially ''Dagály Budapest Aquatics Complex'') is an aquatics complex located in Budapest, Hungary. It was designed by Marcell Ferenc and built between 2015 and 2017. Design and construction ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, with a score of 345.10 points.

(2 July 2022)
"19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 10m Platform Preliminary Detailed Results"
''

''. Retrieved 16 July 2022. Later in the month, at the stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series held in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, he won his first gold medal of the 2022 World Series, scoring 426.10 points to finish over 25 points ahead of silver medalist Cătălin Preda and over 30 points ahead of bronze medalist Nikita Fedotov.Herrán, Alfonso (19 July 2022)
"Iffland y Popovici encabezan el Cliff Diving en Copenhague"
(in Spanish). ''

Diario AS ''Diario AS'' () (sometime stylized as ''AS'' or ''As''; ) is a Spanish daily sports newspaper that concentrates particularly on association football. Profile ''Diario AS'' is part of PRISA which also owns ''El País'' and ''Cinco Días''. The ...

''. Retrieved 19 July 2022.

2022 European Aquatics Championships

Popovici entered to compete in the 27 metre high dive at the

2022 European Aquatics Championships The 2022 European Aquatics Championships took place in Rome, Italy, from 11 to 21 August 2022. The event exactly coincided with, but was not officially part of, the 2022 European Championships. This diverged from the joined format of the 2018 Eu ...

, held in August in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, with the second dive in his dive order ranking as the highest

degree of difficulty Degree of difficulty (DD, sometimes called tariff or grade) is a rating used in several sports and other competitions to indicate the technical difficulty of a skill, performance, or course, often as a factor in scoring. Sports which incorporate a ...

dive of all entrants at a 5.8 degree of difficulty.

LEN European Aquatics (formerly , , popularly known by its acronym LEN) is the European governing body for aquatic sports affiliated to World Aquatics — it is the Continental Association for Europe. It was formally organized in 1927 in Bologna, a ...

(18 August 2022)
"European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Dive Order Men's High Diving"
''Microplus''. Retrieved 18 August 2022. His first dive, on 18 August with a 2.8 degree of difficulty, scored 75.60 points, which tied him in rank for third with the Italians Andrea Barnaba and

(18 August 2022)
"European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results After Dive 1 Men's High Diving"
''Microplus''. Retrieved 18 August 2022.Primavera, Erika (18 August 2022)
"A Roma scattano i tuffi dalle grandi altezze, azzurri a caccia di medaglie agli Europei"
(in Italian). ''dire.it''. Retrieved 18 August 2022. For his second of the three dives on the dive order, and leading up to one optional dive not on the dive order, he brought his total score across the first two dives up to 206.10 points and ranked fourth.Tiseo, Giandomenico (19 August 2022)
"LIVE Tuffi grandi altezze, Europei 2022 in DIRETTA: Elisa Cosetti di BRONZO! Sesto Alessandro De Rose dopo due rotazioni"
(in Italian). ''OA Sport''. Retrieved 19 August 2022. By the end of competition, he had amassed 455.70 points across all four dives, winning the gold medal 19.50 points ahead of fellow Romanian Cătălin Preda.

(20 August 2022)
"European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results Men's High Diving Final"
''Microplus''. Retrieved 20 August 2022.Pérez, Marta (20 August 2022)

(in Spanish). ''

Mundo Deportivo ''Mundo Deportivo'' (; ) is a Spanish nationwide daily sports newspaper published in Barcelona. History and profile ''Mundo Deportivo'' was first published on 1 February 1906, as a weekly newspaper, and since 1929 daily. It is the oldest sports ...

''. Retrieved 20 August 2022."Constantin Popovici și Cătălin Preda au obținut aur și argint în proba de sărituri de la mare înălțime, la Europenele de la Roma"
(in Romanian). '' Digi Sport''. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022."AUR și ARGINT pentru România în proba de sărituri de la înălțime de la Campionatul European din Roma!"
(in Romanian). ''

Gazeta Sporturilor Gazeta Sporturilor () is a Romanian sports website, originally founded in 1924 as a daily newspaper. It was the third-oldest daily newspaper in Europe, with 99 years of uninterrupted publication, before issuing its last edition on 31 October 2023. ...

''. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022."Vizes Eb, műugrás: román dupla férfi óriás-toronyugrásban"
(in Hungarian). ''

Nemzeti Sport ''Nemzeti Sport'' (, ) is a Hungarian sports daily. History and profile ''Nemzeti Sport'' was founded in 1903. It is frequently cited by quality English-language media The paper is published in broadsheet format. Between the World War I and Worl ...

''. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022. One week later, Popovici won the stop of the 2022 Cliff Diving World Series held in

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, with a score of 481.50 points, which set a new record for the highest score ever achieve at a single Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series stop."Record du Romain Constantin Popovici en plongeon extrême à Mostar, Gary Hunt 4e"
(in French). ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

''. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.

International championships

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Popovici, Constantin Romanian male divers Living people Olympic divers for Romania Divers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Bucharest 1988 births Male high divers 20th-century Romanian sportsmen 21st-century Romanian sportsmen European Games competitors for Romania Divers at the 2023 European Games World Aquatics Championships medalists in high diving