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Over 600 promising athletes from more than 100 countries are expected to compete in the premier international event for junior swimmers in Otopeni BUDAPEST – World Aquatics announces Otopeni Romania as the upcoming host of the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships from 19-24 August 2025 Over 600 promising young swimmers from more than 100 National Federations are expected to compete Located beside the Romanian capital Bucharest Otopeni is emerging as a vibrant hub for sports events thanks to its modern facilities and commitment to hosting world-class competitions The six-day competition will take place at the Aquatics Complex, a facility purpose-built for hosting world-class international swimming events with a 2,400-seating capacity. The venue opened with the European Junior Swimming Championships in 2022 and hosted the European Short Course Swimming Championships in 2023 Olympic swimming champion Camelia Potec now President of the Romanian Swimming and Modern Pentathlon Federation and Chair of the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships – Otopeni 2024 “We are proud and excited that Romania was chosen to organise the World Junior Championships a prestigious competition that will line up the most talented young swimmers around the world “This announcement recognises Romania's efforts to develop the sport and the passion with which we have been involved in promoting swimming,” added Potec “We thank everyone who contributed to this success—from athletes "We are ready to offer an unforgettable show as happened at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in 2023 and to show the world that Romania can host top-class events!" The most recent edition of the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships was held in Netanya athletes set 12 new World Junior Swimming Championship Records and two World Junior Records Romania’s current swimming superstar, David Popovici, solidified his standing in the sport by winning three golds and a relay silver at the 2022 edition of the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships The World Aquatics World Junior Swimming Championships were first held in 2006 in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) Subsequent editions of the biennial event followed in Monterrey (MEX) in 2008; Lima (PER) in 2011; Dubai (UAE) in 2013; Singapore (SGP) in 2015; Indianapolis (USA) in 2017; Budapest (HUN) in 2019; Lima (PER) in 2022 Editor’s Note: The World Aquatics World Junior Swimming Championships were previously the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships David Popovici posted a 47.30 scorcher in the 100 free prelims before withdrawing from the final because of back pain on the penultimate day of the Romanian Championships in Otopeni The 2022 world and European champion split 22.96/24.34 for the joint-ninth fastest performance of his career as he matched the time that secured gold at the 2021 European Junior Championships A year later he became the world record-holder in the same Foro Italico pool in Rome in 46.86 with Pan Zhanle lowering that to 46.80 at the 2024 worlds in Doha before his eye-watering 46.40 at Paris 2024 It fires the Olympic 200 free champion to second in the rankings behind Rio 2016 gold medallist Kyle Chalmers and his 47.27 from Bergen a couple of weeks ago Popovici set a Romanian record of 21.83 in the 50 free and posted 1:45.07 over 200m before his prelims scorcher He was also slated to enter the 100 fly on Sunday in which he holds the national record of 52.30 but it appears he now won’t line up in that saying: “Should have competed in the 100m freestyle final today the back pain did not allow me to go into the pool the bravest thing you can do as an athlete is know when to say “stop” to take care of your body and your path long-term Even though it was hard for me to watch the race from the sidelines I didn’t want to disappoint the kids who came to see me Thank you all for your support and understanding – I will come back stronger!” The final went ahead without Popovici with Patrick Dinu going 48.70 for victory to go second all-time performer in Romania Richard Szilagyi was second in 49.85 with Mihai Gergely third in 50.52 Rebecca Diaconescu: Photo Courtesy: Peter H Rebecca Diaconescu added the women’s 100 title to her 200 and 400 free crowns as the only woman inside 56secs in 55.97 Irina Ana Preda came back on the second 50 to touch 0.07 behind in 56.04 with Ioana Maria Stirbu third in 56.75 Daria Mariuca Silisteanu set a Romanian record in the first final of the day with 28.28 in the 50 back With that time she cut 0.18 from the standard of 28.46 she set en-route to bronze at the 2023 European juniors and secured the 50/100 double She was well clear of Aissia Claudia Prisecariu who clocked 29.42 in second with Theodora Maria Dumitru third in 30.04 Denis Laurean Popescu also clinched the 50/100 double when he stopped the clock at 25.44 with Andrei Ungur (25.74) and Andrei Mircea Anghel (25.94) following him to the rostrum Daria Asaftei completed a clean sweep of the breaststroke events with a dominant 100 win in 1:09.32 just 0.07 shy of Henrietta Fangli’s national record of 1:09.25 from 2023 before she switched sporting nationality to Hungary It’s been a fine meet for Asaftei who set a Romanian mark of 31.67 in the 50 and won the 200 in 2:30.01 Brigitta Vass came from 0.26 down at the final turn to go past Tamara Lospa and take second in 2:11.48 to 2:11.61 as the trio replicated the outcome of the one-length event Darius Coman overcame a 0.46 deficit at halfway to win the men’s 100m breaststroke in 1:01.43 and clinch the 100/200 double Daniel Alexandru Nicusan was second in 1:01.61 as he claimed his third breaststroke medal in Otopeni following 50 gold and 200 silver with Danis Volontir third in 1:02.15 Robert Badea clinched the IM double with victory by more than 10secs over 400 The European junior champion stopped the clock at 4:17.50 ahead of Vlad Stancu (4:27.60) and Nimrod Kalman Koncz (4:36.22) Badea won the 200IM earlier in the meet in a Romanian record of 1:59.95 Rebeca Jasmine Veress was the only woman inside 5mins as she claimed the long medley title in 4:57.63 ahead of Ana Maria Sibiseanu (5:00.73) and Tamara Lospa (5:06.06) Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Cal Bear and Mexican swimmer Humberto Najera took down a pair of national records in the men’s backstroke events we are discussing the madness that occurred at the Ft Lauderdale Pro Swim the oldest swimmer to win a medal at a World Championship would qualify for the 2025 World Aquatics with his record-setting swim Angela Martinez Guillen won her first over individual World Cup title in her home country Italy swept the podium on the men’s side Rich Taylor (left) is the father of SEC Champion and All-American Andrew Taylor (second from left) Rich is in a medically-induced coma after falling off a bike December 15th, 2024 Europe, FINA Junior World Championships, International, News Romania as the host of the 2025 World Junior Swimming Championships This will be Romania’s first time hosting the World Junior Swimming Championships though Otopeni has become a fairly-regular host on the European circuit The 2025 World Junior Swimming Championships will be held August 19-24 The Otopeni Swimming Complex near the capital Bucharest is the country’s largest aquatic complex It features a 50 meter x 25 meter main competition pool and a 9.8 meter “paddling pool.” The facility has capacity for 2,797 spectators Opened in 2021 at a cost of 34 million Euros (about $41 million in 2021 US Dollars) the pool has quickly become part of Romania’s ascent into the regular hosting rotation The pool hosted the 2022 European Junior Swimming Championships the 2023 European Short Course Swimming Championships and the 2023 World Aquatics Men’s U20 Water Polo Championships and 2011 are eligible for the 2025 edition of the biannual championship for the world’s best swimmers aged 14-18 (based on age as of December 31st) Romania ranks 15th in the all-time medals table at the World Junior Championships with 6 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze medals. Four of those medals, and the Meet Records in the 100 and 200 free, were set by global superstar David Popovici in 2022 the same year wher he won matching 100 free and 200 free gold medals at the senior World Aquatics Championships Olympic swimming champion Camelia Potec now President of the Romanian Swimming and Modern Pentathlon Federation and Chair of the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships – Otopeni 2024 “We are proud and excited that Romania was chosen to organize the World Junior Championships “This announcement recognizes Romania’s efforts to develop the sport and the passion with which we have been involved in promoting swimming,” added Potec “We are ready to offer an unforgettable show and to show the world that Romania can host top-class events!” Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" More from Braden KeithSee All Subscribe to our newsletter and receive our latest updates is the primary international airport of Romania Phase I: 308m lei: Phase II: 801m lei; Phase III: 834.6m lei Previously known as Bucharest Otopeni International Airport it is the largest and busiest airport in the country and features two runways and a helipad The latest expansion project at the airport is part of the Bucharest Henri Coanda Airport Capital Investment Plan It aims to enhance the airport’s infrastructure to boost operational resilience Major upgrades include rehabilitating one of the main runways and taxiways, renovating the baggage handling system upgrading aircraft parking stands and improving the airside area of the airport The Henri Coanda Airport is served by 45 airlines transporting passengers to 128 destinations The 2022 expansion plan of the airport includes widening of Apron 1 towards north – work valued at 21.1m lei ($5m) The apron widening includes four new aircraft stands The plan also includes the replacement of two of the existing 14 airbridges upgrades of seven airbridges and the construction of a new passenger airbridge equipped with a visual docking guidance system The capacity of the airport is being increased in three phases being undertaken with an investment of 308m lei involves increasing the operational capacity of the airport by optimising aircraft operations on taxiways and increasing the number of parking spaces Phase II expansion includes major repair upgrades on Alpha It also includes upgrading and widening of Apron 1 and 2 towards south up to Bravo and towards east up to Delta It is expected to be completed in 2027 and involves an estimated investment of 801m lei Phase III expansion includes increasing the capacity of the 08R–26L runway The scope of work includes rapid exit taxiways extension of the Bravo taxiway parallel to the 08R-26L runway between Delta taxiway and 26L threshold and aircraft de-icing and anti-icing aprons for the 08R-26L runway ends This phase is expected to finish in 2028 and involves an estimated investment of 834.6m lei The airport will have 20 additional long-term parking spaces equipped with electric car chargers The parking lots will be built near the thermal power station no 1 by 2025 with an estimated investment of 72.4 lei 86 parking lots will be constructed near to the departures terminal (66) and the TAROM (20) building The multilevel arrival car parking will also be upgraded and consolidated The north parking lot will have 669 spaces and the west car park will have 1,019 spaces The interiors of arrivals and departures terminal will be refurbished with improved air conditioning system These works will be completed by 2025 with an investment of 139m lei Other terminal modernisation works include upgrades to baggage conveyors hand baggage security control systems and replacement of hold baggage processing equipment to increase the final capacity to 2,400 pieces per hour Construction of a wastewater treatment plant and photovoltaic power station at the airport will also be undertaken Henri Coanda International Airport has two 3,500m-long asphalt runways which are designated as 08R/26L and 08L/26R The modernised Delta runway became operational in July 2020 The Delta taxiway has a load-bearing width of 23m The runway can ensure the unrestricted taxiing of Category E aircraft such as Boeing 777-300 which runs from the airport to Bucharest North railway station provides connectivity between Bucharest and the airport The airport station is located 900m from the terminal building and is connected through buses The $123m Phase I of the development and modernisation project of Henri Coanda International Airport took place in 1994-98 a new international departures hall with a capacity of 1,200 passengers per peak hour along with five air bridges was created by expanding the main terminal building was initiated and included the renovation of the international arrivals hall It included the development of a parking facility at the arrivals hall which had three levels and space for 900 cars Another domestic hall featuring a capacity of 200 passengers per peak hour was opened The airport underwent an expansion under Phase III of the development and modernisation project which increased the capacity of the terminal to six million passengers a year The €150m ($185m) project was completed in 2012 the international departures hall was extended by 5,500m² (59,201ft²) The international arrival hall was also expanded by 2,000m² The boarding area of the airport was extended by 6,000m² which included the addition of up to 12 air bridges The VIP lounge was also expanded by 1,500m², and a 16,000m² turnaround bay area for a 26L runway was built The new car parking area includes a space of 12,000m² The expanded passenger terminal can handle a total of 4,500 (3,600 international and 900 domestic) passengers per hour during peak times 86 check-in desks and five baggage belts are featured in the international hall 18 check-in desks and two baggage belts in the domestic hall The contractor for Phase I and Phase II of the previous development and modernisation project of the airport held in the 1990s was Romairport The joint venture was formed by Italstrade SEA-Aeroporti di Milano and CCCF Bucharest was awarded a contract for the baggage system replacement and screening upgrade at the airport in June 2022 The scope of work includes 56 new check-in conveyors a new outbound sortation system with five new standard three screening machines two new make-up carousels and a connection to the domestic terminal Henri Coanda International Airport was used by the German Air Force as an airbase during the Second World War and later by the Romanian Air Force until 1965 It underwent development in 1965 when the runway was extended from 1,200m to 3,500m and a new building for domestic and international passengers was constructed The passenger terminal building was renovated in 1970 to accommodate 1.2 million passengers annually it underwent another overhaul with the construction of a second 3,500m runway Taxiways and the airport lighting system were also improved which enabled the airport to handle 35 to 40 aircraft an hour the airport became a member of Airports Council International Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network Show Breaking News BarCloseNewsStephen Mcgrath And Vadim Ghrida Full Screen1 / 12Previous photoNext photoMohamed Amra is escorted by armed police officers at the Henri Coanda international airport in Otopeni (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)Police officers escort Mohamed Amra after a court hearing at the Court of Appeals in Bucharest is brought handcuffed by police officers at the Court of Appeals in Bucharest (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)Copyright 2025 The Associated Press BUCHAREST – A notorious French fugitive who staged a deadly escape that killed two guards last year was extradited Tuesday from Romania to France, days after his arrest in Bucharest ended a nine-month international manhunt Mohamed Amra nicknamed “The Fly," was arrested near a shopping center in Bucharest on Saturday after being identified by Romanian police The Bucharest Court of Appeal approved his extradition request on Sunday An official at Romania’s Ministry of Internal Affairs who spoke on condition of anonymity because the legal case was still ongoing confirmed to The Associated Press that Amra was handed over to French authorities for extradition Tuesday at an airport near Bucharest — where he arrived in handcuffs He will be ordered to carry out the sentence he escaped last year attempted murder and escaping from custody The high-profile search for Amra began last May, when armed assailants ambushed a prison convoy in Normandy, killing two guards and seriously wounding three others in the process of aiding his escape Amra fled after being sentenced for burglary in the Normandy town of Evreux He was also under investigation for an attempted organized homicide and a kidnapping that resulted in death The international police organization Interpol issued a notice for his arrest while French investigators alerted counterparts in other countries after they suspected Amra had left France French President Emmanuel Macron hailed his capture a “formidable success” and praised European colleagues who had ended the long cross-border hunt Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau has said that Amra had connections with Marseille’s organized crime syndicates and was suspected of heading a drug trafficking network 25 people had been detained in multiple countries suspected of some role in his escape or the aftermath rewritten or redistributed without permission TV Listings Email Newsletters RSS Feeds Closed Captioning / Audio Description Contact Us Careers at WPLG Terms of Use Privacy Policy Public File FCC Applications EEO Report Do Not Sell My Info 1.0 Host Exhibit Copyright © 2025 Local10.com is published by WPLG INC. Caribbean Swimmers Impress at Pro Swim Series Caribbean swimming is having a moment of renewed international relevance Receives Replacement Olympic Medals in Swiss Ceremony American sprinter Gary Hall Jr lost the 10 Olympic medals he earned over a stellar career during wildfires that swept Katie Ledecky Just Had Her Greatest Achievement With Latest World Record Two main factors have made Katie Ledecky the consensus greatest female swimmer in history The Para Swimming World Series recently touched down in Indianapolis and many of the nation’s greatest Para swimmers staked claim to wins across the three day competition The Spectacular Legacy of Sarah Sjostrom in the 50 Butterfly On Friday night Gretchen Walsh walked through a door in the sport that had previously been accessed by just one Luka Mijatovic Claims League Titles in ‘Off’ Events as High School Postseason Begins A rising star on the distance-freestyle scene 16-year-old Luka Mijatovic contested some “off” events during the East Florian Wellbrock Triumphs In 1500 Tussle With Sven Schwarz As Both Men Go 14:36; Elendt & Armbruster Post German Records Florian Wellbrock came out on top in a 1500 free Two Pro Swim Series Marks Ilya Kharun’s weekend at the TYR Pro Swim Series didn’t begin auspiciously Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex Once Again a World-Record Centerpiece The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex has been no stranger to world records through the years Watch Katie Ledecky and Gretchen Walsh Set World Records at TYR Pro Series in Fort Lauderdale The USA Swimming TYR Pro Series in Fort Lauderdale brought four sensational days of flight number H4101 operated by HiSky took off from Bucharest’s “Henri Coandă” International Airport This is the first direct transatlantic flight from Romania operated by a scheduled airline is expected to land at JFK Airport in the American metropolis at 11:35 AM local time after an uninterrupted journey of approximately 10 hours With the launch of the route between Bucharest and New York, HiSky becomes the first private company in Romanian aviation history to operate scheduled flights to the United States and the first airline to introduce this destination into its regular schedule since the discontinuation of flights by the national carrier, in 2003. the pilot in command transporting the first passengers to the USA is none other than the HiSky CEO a commander pilot with over 20 years of experience Regular flights connecting Henri Coandă Airport with New York’s main airport The HiSky aircraft will take off from Bucharest at 8:30 AM local time and will land in New York at 11:35 AM local time the aircraft is scheduled to take off from JFK Airport at 1:25 PM local time to arrive at Otopeni at 6:15 AM local time the second-largest Romanian airline by the number of passengers transported and the fourth most important operator at Romanian airports Bucharest is HiSky’s main operational base but the company also operates regular flights from airports in Iași as well as charter flights in partnership with major travel agencies The direct Bucharest-New York route is also accessible to passengers from Cluj-Napoca and Chișinău. The company’s reservation system offers the option to purchase direct flights with only a one hour and 10-minute connection at Bucharest airport. We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used Fifteen more TAROM flights were canceled, according to Flight Radar monitoring. The cause was an undeclared strike by flight personnel severely affecting thousands of the company’s customers This is the third major crisis to hit Otopeni Airport in less than two weeks following the breakdown of the air conditioning system and the baggage conveyor belts has no solutions to the serious problems plaguing the aviation transport sector in Romania "... TAROM announces the cancellation of some flights on July 8, 2024, due to the temporary unavailability of flight crew members," stated a company press release.  "In accordance with international aviation regulations and strict internal flight safety policies each of the respective flights was canceled because a member of the crew of each aircraft declared themselves <unfit to fly>," specified the TAROM management "The individual decisions of the pilots were made in accordance with current regulations to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers and crew," the statement further read travelers were forced to endure a spontaneous strike by the pilots In order to continuously operate an aircraft a company needs five complete crews that work rhythmically explained an industry expert familiar with the situation at TAROM and who wished to remain anonymous to spotmedia.ro "TAROM is far from this ideal," added the specialist It has started to attract passengers and ticket requests for both scheduled and charter flights for travel agencies You've filled TAROM with cronies and incompetents and then covered the losses with taxpayers' money All that's left is for a tragedy to occur to put the cherry on top "I believe the pilots have chosen an opportune moment and have pushed for salary increases to be negotiated," further explained the expert consulted by spotmedia.ro the European Commission approved a €95.3 million aid package for TAROM to restructure the company but the implementation of the restructuring plan led to the crisis on July 8 The funds were conditioned by the company's restructuring and the acquisition of new aircraft to renew the TAROM fleet with the Ministry of Transport unable to implement it Nine years ago, in a rare public statement, a TAROM director stated that 40% of the company's employees are relatives and subsequent measures failed to rectify TAROM's situation "The procedures within the company are terrible there are structures that simply do not know what to do there are parallel structures dealing with the same tasks there are four parallel structures that are unaware of each other and interfere with each other," said Tiberiu Țiclea TAROM's administrative director at the time Shortly after the European Commission's approval of the aid announced that the restructuring of TAROM would lead to the dismissal of at least half of the employees "A company the size of TAROM, which is based on sound economic principles, normally has around 500, 600 employees, 90% of whom are flight personnel. We have double that," stated the minister, as reported by Agerpres. "With this aid from the European Commission and we are open to any proposals that will establish TAROM on solid economic principles including partnerships that would lead to this happy scenario even when I was with the Prime Minister in the Gulf area.. We have a joint committee in Bucharest and we are trying to find solutions for TAROM," added Sorin Grindeanu mentioned by the official in the statement have found solutions for the company's restructuring Around 2,000 passengers were affected by the 16 canceled flights, resulting in a company loss of over a million dollars, according to a compensation calculation that should be paid by the company to those affected by the flight cancellations Romania is paralyzed when it comes to transportation.. Why does this ministry still exist if no one recognizes your authority We are too tolerant a people to endure these humiliations TAROM's bankruptcy would be a political disaster for the PSD have repeatedly promised to save the company but bridging the gap between words and actions is a long journey "I have requested the management of TAROM to take urgent measures for the current situation! The management team, selected according to the Corporate Management Ordinance, has all the legal levers to make the necessary administrative decisions to avoid such blockages and prevent their recurrence," reacted Sorin Grindeanu to the new crisis at Otopeni Airport. Thousands of passengers found themselves on July 8th suddenly facing their flights being canceled without any prior notice using the opportunity to declare themselves unfit to fly forcing the company's management to negotiate salary increases under pressure flights resumed their schedules but are experiencing significant delays due to the initial cancellations Sorin Grindeanu has urged the company's management to meet the demands of the flight crew and to begin layoffs in other departments of the company it is a complex process as part of the flight crew has influence in other areas through the "family ties" mentioned by the former TAROM director General chaos at Otopeni and no announced measures You are the ones who put cronies there at TAROM," wrote a dissatisfied individual on Minister Grindeanu's Facebook page The crisis in Romanian air transport has already affected hundreds of thousands of passengers in recent times although we have not yet reached the peak demand on infrastructure April 07th, 2025 Europe, International, News, Previews & Recaps The 2025 Romanian National Championships are taking place this week Olympic gold medalist David Popovici is indeed expected to race with the 20-year-old entered in the men’s 50m free Popovici’s dominance in the 100m and 200m free events is well-known The Romanian ranks as the 2nd-fastest man ever in the 100m free with his personal best and former world record of 46.86 sitting only behind Olympic champion Pan Zhanle of China who blasted an other-worldly outing of 46.40 en route to gold at the 2024 Olympic Games Popovici ranks as the 3rd-best performer of all time owning a career-swiftest result of 1:42.97 from the 2022 European Championships Only reigning world record holder Paul Biedermann of Germany and American Olympic icon Michael Phelps have been faster while the latter was 1:42.96 in his prolific career The 50m free and 100m fly are both a bit of a wild card for Popovici although he has solid swims on his resume in both events Popovici’s personal best in the 50m free checks in at the 22.16 logged for gold at the 2022 European Junior Championships The 100m fly saw the Romanian post a time of 52.30 at the 2023 Romanian Championships He’ll need to drop time in both of those events to come within range of the World Aquatics ‘A’ standards of 22.05 in the 50m free and 51.77 in the 100m fly Earlier this year, Popovic told the press,“Even after becoming an Olympic champion “I just want to swim comfortably and as fast as I can There’s a live stream embedded in the meet page It’s fascinating how despite not being the tallest nor the most muscular of elite swimmers he’s so fast He needs to lock in to 100/200 or maybe 200/400 Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule that includes having earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC More from Retta RaceSee All the number of people using the airport gate exceeded 14 million The manager reached an agreement with the prosecutors there are over a thousand people waiting to board after a short visit to their families and relatives in Romania but there are also dozens of foreigners in transit or who have visited the country and the sun heated the asphalt in front of the airport entrances flooded by a river of cars bringing travelers.  while drivers have decided to fend for themselves There are hundreds of people at the security checkpoint and border police officers are barely holding off the travelers' assault There is no orderly line to follow to reach the lanes for carry-on luggage Even though there is willingness to organize it and the rules are diluted in the heat and crowds.  It is a physical challenge to put your belongings in the security scanner tray The system only works through the goodwill and patience of travelers leaving the country but people are accustomed to the authorities' failures in Romania and do not comment.  If someone dares to murmur or curse under their breath their anger dissipates in the heat of the air and the indifference of those around them Romania's entry into the Schengen airspace was the final blow to the airport and there are no signs that it will recover soon or that anyone is addressing the issue the airport's operation deteriorated.  The renovation works that were supposed to be completed before entering Schengen have not been finished yet the area where the passport control points were The place looks as if no one has managed to find a use for it so far Metal frames and plasterboards are piled up waiting for builders who no longer come.  After passing through the border police control and uncomfortable area as if they have to undergo a final physical and mental test before leaving the country The waiting area starts with a duty-free shop that resembles the previous one there is a corridor with closed or under renovation commercial spaces creating a scene reminiscent of a cataclysm's effects and overcrowding are defining elements of the departure terminal at Otopeni Airport vividly describing corruption and administrative incapacity in Romania "There were transparent auctions held at the Romanian Commodities Exchange Contracts signed recently for all duty-free and airport space areas mean revenues three times higher than before," added the PSD official These revenues exist only on paper because many commercial spaces are closed and several have been under renovation for months it is evident that he is aware that Otopeni Airport is one of the dirtiest in Europe.  There is "muck" in front of the sinks in the sanitary areas and the toilets are barely accessible and quickly exited The ANPC report mentions many more irregularities halting commercial services in "11 work points." This means that a large number of shops have been closed The agents' raid followed dozens of complaints from travelers deeply dissatisfied with the conditions they are forced to endure for hours until boarding their flights as well as the exorbitant prices of products sold at the airport The promised improvements by Minister Grindeanu did not materialize as the airport looked deplorable at the beginning of the summer vacation and the main holiday period Another unresolved problem by Grindeanu is that of the airport's prices.  Last year's corruption scandal brought to public debate the fact that travelers were being exploited by merchants A croissant at Otopeni Airport still costs more than one at a café on the Champs Elysee in Paris The general impression is that the authorities are overwhelmed by the crisis here and have given up due to lack of solutions.  Some hope that a new terminal will solve the situation but it is only a bureaucratic illusion and an optimistic way to justify an administrative catastrophe workplace relationships poisoned by political influences and the authorities' lack of intervention have turned Otopeni Airport into a vividly colored trap that is hard to escape especially if the plane takes off with a delay By Nick Hope World record-holder David Popovici hopes the 2023 European Short Course Championships will help inspire young swimmers in his homeland to realise they too can achieve their dreams in the pool will see the Romanian double world gold medallist return to the venue where he claimed four European Junior titles in 2022 He is among a host of headline names who will battle it out for honours at the Olympic swimming complex which is approximately 20km from the centre of capital city Bucharest Among the line-up are British Olympic champion trio Tom Dean, Duncan Scott and Matt Richards as well as other major medallists Maxime Grousset (France), Louise Hansson (Sweden), Mykhailo Romanchuk (Ukraine) and Lana Pudar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) “The most important thing is to put on a show so that hopefully more kids will see it and be inspired,” Popovici tells European Aquatics “I remember going to meets when I was 12-years-old and I met Danas Rapšys and Katinka Hosszu; they came to an International Romanian Championships and seeing them there helped boost my motivation then it’s the best thing I can do for them.” Popovici made his major breakthrough in 2022; achieving a clean sweep of 100m and 200m freestyle titles across European and World senior and junior  championships The highlight? Unquestionably a stunning world record of 46.86 in the 100m freestyle at the Roma 2022 European Championships It saw the then 17-year-old down the previous mark of 46.91 which had been set by Cesar Cielo during the infamous ‘super-suit era’ in 2009 the Romanian endured a more challenging return to the international circuit this year finishing sixth and fourth in the respective 100m and 200m freestyle finals at the World Championships in Fukuoka I had two options; be sad or angry about not winning or try to learn why I didn’t win,” Popovici recalls of the moments after the conclusion of his race programme “I was so motivated that I wanted to get straight back to training the next day “I had spent so much time travelling that I had never really had time to appreciate the full beauty of my country it wasn’t a break from the water and now I’m feeling good Popovici continues: “I’d rather be an athlete who can learn something from losing and be a more complete athlete and with that a more complete human being.” SHORT COURSE SUCCESS ‘NOW POSSIBLE’ FOR POPOVICI Popovici rounded off 2022 with the World Short Course Championships in Melbourne but admitted he had “low expectations” as his training was almost exclusively focused on long course (50m pool) disciplines an impressive silver in the 200m freestyle changed his perspective and the teenager realised he “could also be successful” in a 25m pool as well This is something he aims to build on at the 2023 European Short Course Championships we went to see what would happen but for this (Otopeni 2023) we have trained harder and put in a lot of effort which makes me excited “I’ve never been to a short course competition with big aspirations the European Short Course will be interesting I’m sure the organising committee are going to be great and we’ll do our best to be good hosts and put on a show!” You will be able to follow all of the latest news and videos from Otopeni 2023 via the European Aquatics website and social media channels with LIVE STREAMS available via All Aquatics Tel: +41 22 552 99 99Fax: +41 22 552 99 89eaoffice@europeanaquatics.org  Powered by MicroPlus Data Processing & Timing European finals and a world record are amongst the goals that twins Daniel and Nathan Wiffen have heading into the European Short Course Championships The pair will travel to Otopeni on a high following some recent strong performances at the British University and College Sport Swimming championships (BUCS) they took home gold and silver in the men’s 1500m freestyle with Daniel posting the number one fastest time in the world this year (14:20.75) A dominant display from the elder twin Daniel in both the 400m and 800m freestyle also earned him the world’s highest-ranked times in those events I was quite surprised,” Daniel told European Aquatics “I am the European record holder in the 800 so I do expect to be there – number one in the world – but the 400 was kind of a shock.” “I’d like to be able to repeat the number one times [in Otopeni] and go for three golds maybe With plans to defend his European record (7:25.96) in the 800m freestyle Daniel will also be chasing something bigger at this meet I think the world record isn’t too far away either in the 800 The current 800m freestyle (SC) world record of 7:23.42 was posted in 2008 by Australia’s Grant Hackett and is the longest-standing individual men’s world record The 22-year-old brothers are well accustomed to racing side by side although this event marks the first time they will compete on an Irish international team together it also signifies his first international senior team call-up “I want to start my international experience off with a final in the 800 or 1500m free we’ll be one quarter of that final so that makes it easier for us because we know how each other train and we know each other’s race strategies,” added Daniel The Loughborough-based swimmers credit their programme attitude to training and emphasis on racing as the key ingredients to their success “I’m going to put it out there: I don’t think anyone trains harder than me in the world And I don’t think anyone trains harder than Nathan either,” said Daniel “I’d say I was pretty average before I joined Loughborough,” he added “My first year I made the Olympics and then every year have stepped it up I think it’s mainly because the size of the distance group that we have it’s probably one of the biggest in the world and we’ve got some of the best athletes in the world.” The brothers will be part of a 17-strong Irish team heading to the event Having made his European short course debut at Glasgow in 2019 Daniel said: “This will be my second European Short Course Championships and it will hopefully be a lot more fun for me because I’ll be contending for medals.” “It’s quite a big venue so I’m going to embrace the crowd and look forward to it,” concurred Nathan With Daniel’s Olympic qualification time already secured Nathan is targeting next year’s Irish Olympic Trials as his chance to do the same “I definitely want to get the Olympic time,” said Nathan “I have to get it in the May trials and I want to get two The 1500m freestyle will probably be a lot harder but I think it’s a good challenge,” he added Home - News - Barelli MSFS Addons Release Bucharest Otopeni Airport Romania’s busiest airport comes to live in Microsoft Flight Simulator Scenery developer Barelli MSFS Addons have added Romania’s busiest international airport to their repertoire with their recently released Bucharest Otopeni Airport (ICAO: LROP) Formally known as Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport the airport handled over twelve and a half million passengers in 2022 The dual runway airport on the outskirts of the capital city welcomes domestic flights inter-continental flights from across Europe and even services to the Middle East and beyond You can purchase a copy of Barelli MSFS Addons Bucharest Otopeni at flightsim.to for $18.49 including VAT Romanian media spotted the software giant bought a plot of land in Otopeni Microsoft could be planning its first data center in Romania The cloud giant bought a plot of land in the city of Otopeni, 15km north of Bucharest, making stipulations on the level of connectivity and requiring a high level of installed electrical power, according to Profit.ro The company did not confirm or deny the story "Microsoft has several ongoing and medium-term projects in Romania When they reach a necessary stage of maturity but at this moment we have no comment," Microsoft representatives told the Romanian news source The workforce is focused on rented space in the Campus 6 complex which was built by Skanska and sold to real estate investment company S Immo Large cloud providers initially began operations in Western Europe but have been expanding Eastward in recent years Romanian data center developer Tema Energy has announced plans to list on the Bucharest stock exchange the first hyperscale data center in the country (built by Tema) officially launched in April ClusterPower broke ground on its €40 million facility in Craiova in October 2021, and the first phase was built in six months. It will be powered by natural gas, and is due to be complete in 2025 Among other projects, Tema has also provided the Romanian Police with a container-based data center Data Centre Dynamics Ltd (DCD), 32-38 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH Email. [email protected]DCD is a subsidiary of InfraXmedia Noe Ponti delivered a standout performance as he set a European 100m butterfly record of 48.47 on the second night of finals in Otopeni Estonian 16-year-old Eneli Jefimova claimed an emotional 100m breaststroke title in the same pool where she won the treble at the 2022 European Junior Championships Great Britain lead the medal table after day two of the European Short-Course Championships with two golds France are second with two golds among four medals and Sweden third with two titles Ponti served notice of his intentions in Tuesday’s semifinals when he posted a Championship record of 48.61 The Olympic silver medallist was third at halfway before moving into the lead by the 75m mark and a final 25 of 13.03secs propelled him into the wall in a new European mark and Championship record With that he sliced 0.01secs off the previous continental mark of 48.48 which had stood to Evgeny Korotsyshkin since the supersuit era in November 2009 what a time… I just wanted to win the race I focused only on myself and it worked like this The 22-year-old was seventh at the 2023 World Championships in Japan where Maxime Grousset – second in Otopeni – claimed the title Ponti said in a poolside interview: “It’s been redemption for me 0.06 outside his French record of 48.94 from the semifinals He said: “I made a big shot over the last 25m tried everything but my friend Noe was too fast today.”   Britain’s Jacob Peters claimed his first individual medal in international waters with bronze in 49.98 I didn’t expect to catch Noe (Ponti) or Maxime (Grousset) but hoped for the third place and I managed to get it.” Benedetta Pilato was out under world-record pace in the women’s 100m breaststroke and led Jefimova by 0.64 at the final turn the six-time European Junior champion came past the Italian with a 16.70secs final 25 as she lowered her Estonian record to 1:03.21 With victory she upgraded her silver medal from Kazan 2021 and was holding back tears after leaving poolside emotions are taking over… I’m overjoyed,” she said “This is the first-ever European gold medal for Estonia I won gold medals here last year at the juniors Pilato – the European long-course champion – stopped the clock in 1:03.76 for her first short-course medal over 100m a week after she qualified for her second Olympics at the Italian Winter Championships Tes Schouten won her first European short-course medal with third in 1:04.04 Michelle Coleman won her second gold medal after leading from start to finish to claim the 50m freestyle in 23.52 That followed her title with the Swedish women’s 4x50m freestyle on the opening night in Otopeni It was the first individual title of Coleman’s career which has spanned World and European medals in the long and short-course pools this such a great feeling to claim an individual gold medal finally “There were moments when this could have happened “Now I did and it’s great as I’m approaching the end of my career I could show that I’m able to win a title at a European Championships and this makes me really happy.” Frenchwoman Beryl Gastaldello was second in 23.71 with Julie Kepp Jensen third for her first international medal in 23.89 DOMINANT KIRPICHNIKOVA DEFENDS 800 FREE TITLE Anastasia Kirpichnikova led from start to finish as she won the 800m freestyle by 6.45 seconds It was a second straight title for the 23-year-old who attained French citizenship in April 2023 after previously representing Russia She said: “I’ve come from the open water World Cup in Portugal “This is not my best time but for me the win was the most important and I’m happy that I could take it I think I will drop open water in the future and will focus on pool swimming.” Simona Quadarella repeated her silver from Kazan 2021 in 8:14.83 the Italian having now reached the 800 free podium at four straight European Short-Course Championships TOMAC MAKES MAIDEN SOLO TRIP TO THE PODIUM Mewen Tomac won his first senior individual medal with gold in the 50m backstroke in 22.84 in the first men’s final of the evening The Frenchman said: “It is really great to get the title it was a good race and I think gave all here today “Proud to win the first gold here for the French team.” Ole Braunschweig of Germany came from fifth at halfway to take second in 23.00 with Italian Lorenzo Mora and Switzerland’s Thierry Bollin sharing the third step of the podium in 23.10 Mora returned to lead off the Italian quartet in the 4x50m medley relay in 22.98 with Nicolo Martinenghi (25.32) Thomas Ceccon (22.05) and Lorenzo Zazzeri (20.47) ensuring the world champions retained their European title in 1:30.78 Martinenghi said: “It’s amazing to back on the top of the podium also after last year’s World Championships “This was another great performance from the team we have really good guys in each stroke so this team is very much on the right path to achieve big things in the future.” Ben Proud led five men inside 21secs in the men’s 50 free Arno Kamminga headed the 100m breaststroke where he will once more meet Martinenghi with whom he’s shared Olympic Medi Harris topped the women’s 200 backstroke semis in 2:02.58 Angelina Kohler leads the way in the 200 fly in 2:05.02 and Charlotte Bonnet looked ominous in the 100IM in 57.95 You can follow all of the latest news and videos from Otopeni 2023 via the European Aquatics website and social media channels BUCHAREST (AP) — An airplane used for official trips by late Romanian communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu will be put up for auction on May 27 with a starting price of 25,000 euros ($30,000) The 119-seat Rombac 1-11 was one of nine such passenger jets built in Romania It was used by Ceausescu for official trips between 1986 and 1989 the last three years of his decades-long rule who assumed power after communism fell in 1989 will go up for auction on the same day with the same starting price “They’re considered jewels of the Romanian aeronautic industry,” Alina Panico the public relations manager at the Artmark auction house Due to the two planes’ “extreme rarity and significance for the technical history of Romania,” they were added this year to the “treasure” category of Romania’s mobile cultural heritage they can't leave the country and whoever owns them must maintain them They could bring a lot of tourists … even people from all over the world,” Panico said Although made under a license from the British Aircraft Corp. it was considered a significant achievement at the time for the Ceausescu regime which had planned to produce around 80 of the planes The first Rombac was inaugurated in January 1983 on a flight from Bucharest to the western city of Timisoara The first international flight was two months later to London Ceausescu came to power in 1965 and he ruled the country with an iron fist until a 1989 uprising against Romania’s communist regime Ceausescu and his wife Elena were executed on Christmas Day 1989 after a summary trial Romania’s capital of Bucharest and the neighbouring city of Otopeni will jointly host the World Aquatics Men’s U20 Water Polo Championships 2023 from 10-18 June 2023 Three hundred emerging elite water polo players representing 20 junior national teams are set to take to the pool for nine days of competition culminating with the global men’s age-group water polo crown Romanian Water Polo Federation President Alexandru Matei conveyed excitement in World Aquatics awarding event-hosting duties to Otopeni and Bucharest "I express my joy that Romania will be able to host an event of such scope in which the best national teams from all over the world will take part Following the intense dialogue and discussions held in recent months with World Aquatics we managed to demonstrate that we have all the assets to organise a world championship tournament at the highest standards and under the best conditions." A former water polo player that represented Romania at the London 2012 Olympic Games and two editions of the World Aquatics Championships Matei noted the impact holding this tournament would have for the sport – and the country at large "As a former polo player and performance athlete is bringing Romania's reputation back to the international forefront We can show all the athletes who have embraced this sport – from children to juniors and to seniors who practice – that Romania is in a position to offer them a perspective for the future." Serbia comes in as the defending champions, having won in the final over Italy in 2021 in Prague Czech Republic as Montenegro completed the podium World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam expressed excitement for the competition to take place in Romania and what the country’s hosting this event means for advancing the sport there "The Romanian Polo Federation has shown an increased interest in World Aquatics recently in hosting global aquatics events so we are very interested in restarting a much closer relationship for the events of 2023 and those to come We know the whole polo community will be in good hands and will have an extraordinary experience while competing in Romania.” Previously known as the FINA World Men’s Junior Water Polo Championships Istanbul (TUR) held the event's first event edition in 2001 Subsequent editions of the biennial tournament followed in Napoli (ITA) in 2003; Mar de Plata (ARG) in 2005; Long Beach California (USA) in 2007; Sibenik (CRO) in 2009; Volos (GRE) in 2001; Szombathely (HUN) in 2013; Almaty (KAZ) in 2015; Belgrade (SRB) in 2017; Kuwait City (KUW) in 2019; and Prague (CZE) in 2021 8x Olympic medalist Regan Smith graces the cover of SwimSwam Magazine’s 2025 Women In Swimming Issue Okaro dives into her experience at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2024 Short Course World Championships Aquatics GB released their Singapore roster with Olympic multi-gold medalist Duncan Scott heading up the British lineup for the World Championships Duncan Scott featured prominently in an exciting men’s 200 free final that closed out six days of racing at the Aquatics GB Championships in London Among the group of 14 achieving selection at the preliminary opportunity is 11 Paralympic champions British swimmer James Guy gave a tearful interview with European Aquatics’ in-house reporter Nick Hope last week at the World Short Course Swimming Championships after winning silver in the 200 free in 1:41.12. That time put him .11 seconds behind countrymate Matt Richards and just .03 seconds ahead of Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys. It was an emotional release for Guy, who hadn’t won an individual medal at a major international championship in any race since 2020 and in his favorite 200 free since taking bronze at the 2016 European Long Course Championships. While the drought individually has been long (especially owed to a crowded British field in this race – they went 1-2 at the Tokyo Olympics), he has attained legendary status in that time as a British relay contributor, including a 1:44.40 on the gold medal winning 800 free relay at the Olympics in 2021. “To get a medal on the podium individually is amazing. Been a long time (since) it’s happened,” Guy said. “Things happen in life sometimes, you just don’t give up. Swimming’s a real journey, there’s ups and downs, and I’ve had more downs than ups, but it’s definitely up. Keep going and the times will come and the PBs will come.” That time for Guy was his best by .99 seconds, clearing a time done at he 2019 edition of the European Championships. A post shared by European Aquatics (@euroaquatics) — MR.CARTER (@NelsonCarterJr) December 9, 2023 but seemed to get passed or left behind in the last 50 or 100 The 200 free seems to have a different podium every time But still giving Team GB some great relay splits Great Britain men have so many good 200 freestylers Keep pushing for best times and the winning will eventually come and Scott all firing at the same time they could potentially break the WR by 3 seconds 4 if really pushing it Yeah that’s a ridonkulous relay if it hits It’s also wild how we each process our own reality James says he’s had more downs than ups He was born with the genetics and natural talent and ability to be the top 0.0001% in the world He has had the financial privilege and ability to pour his time and efforts into a sport he loves He lives in a nation that has the wealth and stability to field a consistent and competitive national team I’d say he has had more ups than downs in his life But I also recognize that privilege doesn’t mean battles and challenges go away – and… Read more » always seems to be crying at every major meet I shed tears of joy just watching the joy that some of these athletes get from their racing partly cause I know what they have been through to get the result so I totally get and respect tears of joy from the athlete themselves Tell us you’ve never competed in sports at a high level for a living for a long period of time without telling us… He’s often affectionately referred to as James Cry- we love his emotion – and his prowess Olympic champions Kristof Milak and Tom Dean are among the newly announced commitments to the Monaco Mare Nostrum stop from May 17-18 Marchand has a few areas of improvement to work on if he hopes to return to his Paris form at the World Championships this summer in Singapore having tight battles in both the 200 and 400 IM but ultimately touching 2nd in both April 08th, 2023 Europe, International, News A senior National Record, a pair of National age records, and an Olympic qualification for teenage star David Popovici highlighted the penultimate day of the 2023 Romanian National Swimming Championships on Saturday in Otopeni Around 1,000 spectators were in attendance has been swimming secondary events all week – including wins in the 50 free and 400 free – but into the weekend he raced his primary 100 freestyle on Saturday That’s a race in which he’s the defending World Champion and the World Record holder in long course the 18-year-old Popovici won the final in 47.61 Not only does that make his first official Olympic “A” standard it ranks him #1 in the world this season – surpassing Matthew Richards’ 47.72 from British Trials two days ago “I proposed to do the standard today but I said there is no rush,” Popovici said after the race when you don’t want something at all costs my coach and I aim to be ignorant of limits I’m glad I got the ticket for the Olympic Games.” That swim is the 13th-fastest of his career and the best he’s been at a Romanian Championship meet His was not a National Record, but one did fall on the day. Henrietta Fangli won the women’s 100 breaststroke in 1:09.25 leading the field by more than three seconds and taking almost a second off the old National Record That old mark belonged to Beatrice Caslaru Caslaru was a three-time Olympian for Romania winning silver in the 200 IM and bronze in the 400 IM at the 2000 Games in Sydney While the 100 breaststroke was not a primary event for her she was the 2000 European Champion in the 200 breaststroke Fangli’s previous best time was a 1:11.00 from last June’s National Championship meet meaning she improved her personal best by almost two seconds The swim also puts Fangli under the FINA “B” standard of 1:09.71 for the World Championships though she still has a ways to go to hit the Olympic “B” standard of 1:07.12 There were two National Romaian Age Records at the meet as well Daria Mariuca Sillisteanu which also sets the Romanian Age Records for U14 and is only .04 seconds away from the overall National Record set by Diana Mocanu in 2002 She previously broke all of those same records in prelims in 28.79 She trains out of the same Clubul Sportiv Dimano Bucuresti club as Popovici The senior National Record of 4:19.72 was set by Cezar Badita was set in 2003 Badea previously held the U16 and U17 records with a 4:25.68 Popovici owns the national U15 record with a 4:28.86 Badea’s time on Saturday would place him 17th all-time among American 15-16s don’t they have non-potato quality cameras in Romania he might be the world record holder and all but he did miss the British qualifying standard by 0.01 Seriously are those the fastest cuts ever by a single country u15 etc as opposed to US record that are fixed ages (I do wish they were single age) Especially in women’s events where younger ages are regularly faster for younger ones Probably the best indicator we have to put his off event performances into perspective and I will not trivialize the fact that he is beating some of the world’s best juniors in the 400m but I don’t think it’s going to be his thing GODovici swimming 47s like they’re nothing Chlorine Daddy continues to spread Popovicitis around the pool Him and Magnusen would have been a fun race to watch if Maggie hadn’t gone flop there It’s crazy how casual a 47.6 from an 18 year old is now considering that berore popovici the WJR was a 47.57 (yes I know popovici is too old to set WJRs now) He’s not too old any more: https://swimswam.com/world-aquatics-changes-age-eligibility-for-world-juniors-athletes-ages-14-18-eligible/ An untapered 47.6 from Popovici in April is mind boggling but ma boy Caeleb Remel Dressel is about to get smashed in 16 months time in the french capital Thank god he has that unmatched speed for the 50 free Body fat percentage must be in the negatives I mean Dressel probably already peaked in the 100 and he accomplished everything there is in that event except a WR I’d imagine Dressel was planning to go back to back Olympic gold in the 100 free until Chlorine Daddy happened I actually don’t believe Dressel has peaked yet I think he still has room to improve in any of his three events but you got to line up on the day and see how it shakes out By Nick HopeAquatics correspondent When Russian troops began their invasion in the early hours of 24 February 2022 the lives of Ukrainian citizens – including their athletes – changed forever Mykhailo Romanchuk – one of the nation’s most decorated Olympians – admits he was left traumatised by what he witnessed unfold much like many of his countrymen and women He faced an “extremely difficult” and almost unique dilemma though ‘elite athlete’ status granted the swimmer permission to leave the country and seek safety overseas The then 25-year-old was offered refuge by his great rival – and friend – double Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock at his training base in Magdeburg despite knowing it could be a potentially life-saving offer “It was quite a hard decision because I had a lot of thoughts in my mind and one was that maybe it would be better to go to the army to defend the country,” he tells European Aquatics “After a long discussion with my wife and my family we decided that okay I’m not a warrior (like the soldiers in the field) I’m Ukrainian and even in a harsh situation we Ukrainians are still able to compete at a high level’ and that is why I moved to Germany.” At this point nearly two weeks had passed since the war had begun and the Ukraine Romanchuk knew was already near unrecognisable from the land in which he grew up Over the following months around six million Ukrainian citizens fled the country and a further eight million are believed to have been displaced within the nation since February 2022.  Despite the “heartbreak” he experienced after leaving family behind and knowing his father would be fighting Russian forces after being called up by the Ukrainian army the swimmer was determined to ‘fight’ for his nation in the only way he knew how Less than three months later he secured an astounding brace of bronze medals at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest; the first an 800m success in the pool before adding another third-place finish in the 5km open water event.  “No-one can really explain the feelings we have on the podium given what Ukrainians are all going through,” the two-time Olympic medallist admits “People around us know how hard it is for us to get these medals and it’s an unbelievable feeling to be doing it for our country “They’re doing what they are without all of the weapons and still fighting one of the biggest armies in the world so we’re incredibly proud of our country.” Romanchuk was also “crying like a baby” when he watched his Ukrainian wife Seeking ‘home comforts’ – despite ongoing bomb threats His own global aquatic championships in Japan in July did not bring the same level of success of previous years followed by sixth (800m) and seventh (1500m) in the pool was beginning to have a major impact on his mental health and despite the “obvious dangers” he made the decision to return to Ukraine early in August “Mentally it was hard for me to be outside of Ukraine,” says the five-time European champion “I had not been there in one and a half years; I missed my parents and my home being able to wake up and go to see my parents lie on the grass in the backyard with the dog and enjoy time with my wife is so beautiful.” Sirens during swimming and missiles in the pool He knows the dangers are far from over though and receives almost daily reminders when training at his base in Dnipro Barely two weeks after returning to the city he reported on social media the venue had been struck by a Russian “night missile” during a “drone attack.” It was a very real reminder of the threat he and others continue to face not only in the region “It’s really hard and really dangerous to be in Ukraine right now and there’s no ‘safe place’ really,” he tells European Aquatics “When there is an air alarm (siren) you have to quickly get out of the water and go to the bunker or the shelter so it’s really difficult to get consistent training or practice in.” Romanchuk and several other swimmers donated money to help repair the pool after the missile damage but renovation work is slow and while still useable the cold weather is making training in the Olympic facility challenging the swimmer remains in Ukraine as he is adamant his presence will send a message to other athletes from his homeland “The young people need to recover Ukraine,” he tells European Aquatics “I know my father is back home and out of the army now but the stories he tells us about the fighting is terrible to show the other young Ukrainian guys who moved to the other countries Romanchuk now aims to take his personal ‘fight’ into Otopeni 2023 and unleash the ‘swimming warrior’ on the European Short Course Championships “I know that Romania has done a lot of things for Ukrainians so I hope to see a lot of Ukrainians over there and they will understand that athletes are not just fighting for themselves anymore for all the guys standing on the front line of the war and not only for peace in Ukraine in the morning — which is not great prep for the world record,” Daniel Wiffen shared on YouTube Italian Matteo Rivolta suffered a second-degree injury to the distal biceps tendon after an accident with backstroke device in Otopeni il campione del mondo 2021 dei 100 farfalla Matteo Rivolta si è infortunato ad un braccio a causa del malfunzionamento del device the only other year in which only one short-course world record was set was 2011 when Missy Franklin broke the women’s 200 back standard Un gigantesco murales di 300 metri quadri con il volto di David Popovici sovrasta un angolo della città di Bucharest December 07th, 2023 International, News We’ve entered day three of the 2023 European Short Course Championships and it’s time to relive the action with the best images from Otopeni Andrei-Theodor PROCA of Romania competes in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle Heats during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Mykhailo ROMANCHUK of Ukraine competes in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle Heats during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Daniel-Alexandru NICUSAN of Romania competes in the Men’s 4x50m Medley Relay Heats during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Nicolo MARTINENGHI of Italy competes in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Heats during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Arno KAMMINGA of Netherlands competes in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Heats during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni David POPOVICI of Romania cwalks out after competing in the Men’s 4x50m Medley Relay Heats during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Simone CERASUOLO of Italy competes in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Heats during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Margherita Panziera of Italy $competes in the Women’s 200m Backstroke Heats during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Florent MANAUDOU of France walks out after competing in the Men’s 50m Freestyle Heats during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Lorenzo ZAZZERI of Italy celebrates after winning in the Men’s 4x50m Medley Relay Final during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Anastasiia KIRPICHNIKOVA of France celebrates after winning in the Women’s 800m Freestyle Final during the 22nd LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni Noe Ponti courtesy of Len European Aquatics Eneli Jefimova courtesy of Len European Aquatics Mewen TOMAC courtesy of Len European Aquatics Michelle Coleman courtesy of LEN European Aquatics DANIEL WIFFEN2023 European SC Swimming Championshipcourtesy of LEN European Aquatics More from Giusy CisaleSee All When Yohann Ndoye Brouard made his senior international bow at the 2019 European Short Course Championships he was joined on the French team by fellow newcomers that were destined to shine and a returning Olympic champion Ndoye Brouard has claimed four European long-course medals including 200m backstroke gold at Roma 2022 Among his teammates in Glasgow was fellow debutant Leon Marchand who has gone on to win five world titles and at the Fukuoka World Championships in July set a 400m individual medley world record eclipsing Michael Phelps’ mark that had stood since Beijing 2008 Florent Manaudou made his return to championship racing in Glasgow after time away from the water following his 50m free silver in Rio 2016 Ndoye Brouard told European Aquatics: “We were with (six-time world medallist) Maxime Grousset too who had already gone to Gwangju (for the 2019 World Championships) “So we had some young guys who were building some strength of the team and we had older people like Florent Manaudou Melanie Henique and Charlotte Bonnet who are like the base of the pyramid “It’s like a growth of four years of guys who want to be the best of the Olympics so we are pushing ourselves together to climb that pyramid.” who shared top spot on the 100m backstroke podium with fellow Frenchman Camille Lacourt at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai “I recall talking with Jeremy at the restaurant and it was very cool to meet some of those guys “I remember it was the comeback for Florent Manaudou and I was his fan because I remember seeing him winning at the Olympics It was great to meet those people and talk with them about swimming and competition.” Elbow Surgery And ‘Alien’ Marchand Ndoye Brouard will conclude a year that began with him having undergone surgery on his right elbow after he fractured it in a fall while skiing in the French Alps two days after Christmas 2022 He said: “I fell on my wrist and on my head too I stood up and I looked at my body and I was like ‘oh “And then I fell again – I passed out – and then I knew it was something wrong so I took off my jacket and saw my elbow was at a different angle.” It required 18 stitches although he was optimistic of making a full recovery just as he did in 2019 after breaking his wrist the 23-year-old concentrated on land training and Ndoye Brouard found it tough on his return to racing at the Canet stop of the Mare Nostrum in May he also didn’t have full mobility in his elbow and was unable to fully extend his arm He resolved to have the nine metal screws that were inserted following the accident removed after the World Championships Before then he travelled to Fukuoka and looked on as Marchand took 1.34secs off Phelps 400IM world record I was with my teammates at the hotel and we were seeing his race on the TV and we were crazy He is something else – like he is an alien “It was very motivational to swim after this world record because he is like us Mixed feelings at worlds before looking to Otopeni After finishing fifth in the 100m backstroke in Fukuoka in 52.84 Ndoye Brouard then led off the French men’s medley relay that finished fourth He said: “I was a bit disappointed at first with the 100 back because with my 52.50 of Budapest (2022 World Championships) I would have stood on the podium and then I realised I had something to do at the Olympics because if I am fifth with an arm broken and some metal in my elbow Ndoye Brouard will race the 100m and 200m backstroke in Otopeni before turning his focus to a home Games at Paris 2024 He said: “It is important for us to race against those great guys in Europe and I think it’s a good thing before Olympics to have a big championship.” The country of Romania will host the 2022 European Junior swimming championships and the 2023 European short course championships at a brand new aquatic complex in the city of Otopeni next to the capital of Bucharest, according to a press release from LEN but the venue will be able to seat up to 3,000 spectators who is the President of the Romanian Swimming Federation “It’s great to receive more good news from Rome after watching the brilliant swims of our extremely talented young athlete David Popovici,” sports minister Eduard Novak said “We are very happy to support this event on behalf of the government and I would like to thank LEN for the trust to allocate these outstanding championships to Romania We can guarantee that these competitions will enjoy successful partnerships at all levels in our country Let me also thank the Romanian Swimming Federation and its President Camelia Potec for her proposal to organize these meets.” “I’m really thankful for the LEN Bureau and President Barelli for the support we will do our best to stage a series of memorable events in our new complex” 2004 Olympic champion Potec added “Having this new venue will definitely lift Romanian aquatics to a new dimension but we also wanted to share the benefits of the new complex with the LEN Family I think these events will also give a boost for the popularity of swimming in Romania so it’s a win-win situation both for us and European Aquatics.” Veolia Romania Integrated Solutions (VRSI) a member company of Veolia Romania and provider of operation and the City of Otopeni signed on 15.01.2024 an additional agreement extending the concession contract until 2045 Thus, Veolia Romania Integrated Solutions continues its partnership with the City of Otopeni, providing drinking water collection, treatment, and distribution services and wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal for more than 21.000 inhabitants. Veolia Romania Integrated Solutions has undertaken to implement a new investment program worth an estimated 13.7 million euros over eight years with the key objectives of expanding and modernizing the wastewater treatment plant and the water supply and sewerage networks VRSI will make every effort to ensure that work on the extension and modernization of the wastewater treatment plant will start in the second half of 2024 with the completion of the investment expected in 2027 Through operational and managerial efficiency Veolia Romania Integrated Solutions has successfully achieved the objectives of the concession contract Noe Ponti became the first man to complete the butterfly clean sweep after winning gold in the 50 at the European Short-Course Championships in Otopeni The Swiss swimmer went 21.79 to add the sprint to the 100 he won in a European record of 48.47 and the 200 he claimed on Friday Kira Toussaint made it three in a row in the 100 back to add to three straight 50 back titles Matt Richards and James Guy delivered a British 1-2 in the 200 free with David Popovici finishing outside the medals in fourth Great Britain return to the top of the medal table with eight golds six silvers and four bronze medals ahead of France (six golds seven silvers and five bronze) and the Netherlands (five golds and four bronze medals) Medi Harris was comfortably the fastest qualifier and was seeking a second individual title of the meet following 200 back gold But it was Kira Toussaint who led throughout to win in 55.88 to claim her third straight 100 title and add to her three in a row over 50 on Friday “I came here to win these two events (50-100m) “I was nervous before the start but it’s fun to feel the excitements and at the same time I was confident and I’m happy that I’ve succeeded.” Harris was second in 56.81 with Mary-Ambre Moluh of France third in 57.10 British 1-2s are becoming a regular occurence in the 200 Tom Dean and Duncan Scott in Tokyo were followed by Richards and Dean at the 2023 World Championships And it was the same once more in Otopeni with Richards and Guy taking the two top slots in 1:41.01 and 1:41.12 respectively Danas Rapsys was third in 1:41.15 with Popovici fourth in 1:41.52 Matt Richards: Photo Courtesy: Morgan Harlow/British Swimming Louise Hansson added to her Otopeni medal haul with gold in 55.37 with Angelina Kohler adding 100 silver to her 2 fly gold in 55.50 The Netherlands are thriving in the breaststroke with Arno Kamminga and Tes Schouten having already paid a trip to the top of the Otopeni podium Caspar Corbeau led from start to finish to join the golden club in 2:02.41 to add to his 100 bronze Anton McKee of Iceland took silver in 2:02.74 with Kamminga third in 2:03.32 patting Corbeau’s back as he hoisted himself on the lane ropes before slapping the water Abbie Wood led throughout to win in 2:05.58 as she won the medley double Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto Charlotte Bonnet rocketed down the final 25 for silver in 2:06.58 with Lena Kreundl third in 2:06.89 “It’s tough doing the IM double but I’m really proud” She paid tribute to her coach at Loughborough Performance Centre “I need to give Dave Hemmings a shout out and I hope he starts to get the praise he deserves because what he’s doing with Medi (Harris) and I is great It was a bit of a surprise when he said we would be training partners but it’s working so well for both of us.” Noe Ponti completed the fly treble in 21.79 – just 0.04 off the world record of 21.75 held by Szebasztian Szabo who finished second in 21.96 Noe Ponti: Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto Ben Proud – who blasted to a European record of 20.18 to win the individual 50 free title – went out in 20.39 with Lewis Burras going 20.69 as they reached halfway with a 0.27secs lead over Italy Anna Hopkin went 22.95 for the fastest woman’s split in the field before Freya Anderson anchored the quartet to gold in 23.72 It was Burras’ second relay gold of the championships following victory in the men’s 4x50m freestyle I couldn’t ask much more at my first-ever European Championships take in the crowd and the time will be fast (PMI) continues its investments aimed at transforming the Otopeni factory into a manufacturing unit of consumables for IQOS the electronic tobacco heating system developed by the company when the transformation process for the Otopeni factory started USD 500 million have been invested in the development of manufacturing capacities the training of the employees and the implementation of sustainability solutions nearly USD 100 million was invested in 2021 alone PMI will further invest over USD 100 million and continue to develop the IQOS consumables manufacturing capacity for the domestic and external markets but also to minimize its environmental footprint – the ultimate goal being to become a carbon neutral factory by 2023 „We are fully committed to replacing cigarettes with better alternatives to smoking and the further investments in the coming years clearly demonstrate this The USD 500 million invested so far and the emphasis on the development of the smoke-free products category have made the total value of exports of these consumables comparable to Romania’s cigarette exports we have managed to put Romania on the map of innovation and to offer hundreds of millions of smokers around the world a better alternative to continuing smoking” we need legislative predictability as well as a balanced fiscal framework that fosters innovation Non-combusted tobacco and nicotine-based products should be taxed according to their health risk and exposure Combusted products and cigarettes are the most harmful form of tobacco consumption and should be taxed the highest in order to encourage smokers to quit smoking and for those who don’t quit to switch to better alternatives of consuming nicotine An increase of the heated tobacco products excise duty has a real potential to undermine the development of the heated tobacco category that currently is successfully helping adult consumers to switch away from cigarettes This would be detrimental to public health” In 2022-2023, the investments in the factory in Otopeni will continue in order to further develop production capacity and expand the product portfolio, which will include consumables for IQOS ILUMA, the latest generation device recently launched by PMI. The investments will also target strategic sustainability goals as the factory aims to achieve a neutral carbon footprint by 2023. Heated Tobacco Products have made a significant contribution to reduce the trade deficit * Combined Nomenclature (CN) product group 24.03 – Other manufactured tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; homogenized or reconstituted tobacco; tobacco extracts and essences ** Source of data: National Institute of Statistics Daniel Wiffen crushed the 800m freestyle short-course World record in the final individual race of the European Short Course Championships in Otopeni The Irish swimmer stopped the clock at seven minutes 20.46 seconds to slice 2.96secs off Grant Hackett’s record that had stood since July 2008 It was the longest-standing global standard in the books with the 22-year-old leaving Romania with three golds and a World record Italy enjoyed a gold rush on the final evening with six gold medals as well as Championship records courtesy of Alberto Razzetti in the 400m individual medley and Benedetta Pilato in the 50m breaststroke Great Britain topped the final medal table with nine golds eight silvers and six bronze medals ahead of Italy (seven golds 12 silvers and three bronzes) and France (seven golds WIFFEN TAKES DOWN LONGEST-STANDING WORLD RECORD Wiffen made history as the first Irish swimmer to win a European short-course title when he dismantled the 400m freestyle field on the opening evening He became the third-fastest man all-time in the 1500 before his extraordinary performance on Sunday he was a sliver outside world record pace before dipping 0.11 inside at halfway Wiffen swam further and further away from the world record line to destroy Hackett’s mark and his own European standard and in the process became the first Irish swimmer to set a global mark in the pool I had people messaging me asking if I was going to try and break the world record but I was trying to keep it under wraps that I was in the shape for it,” he beamed “I actually felt horrible during the morning so it’s great to swim that fast when I’ve been feeling that way “This is the hardest ever period (of racing) as I’ve had 10 days of racing three 800s and two 400s in 10 days and to finish off with the world record just proves my fitness “This time last year I broke the European record in the 800 and then in April I went 14:36 (in the 1500) and then at the world champs two fourth places and a European record long-course in the 800m freestyle “Off the back of that I was kind of disappointed with my fourth places so coming here I was like ‘we need to step up let’s get in the medals and we came away with three golds and a world record which is just amazing!” David Aubry was second in 7:30.32 with Mykhailo Romanchuk clinching bronze in 7:31.20 The men’s 400IM saw Razzetti renew his acquaintance with Duncan Scott who won gold ahead of the Italian in the 200IM The pair were soon in a two-man battle with Razzetti ahead after the fly leg and they couldn’t be separated at halfway Razzetti pulled away on the breaststroke leg and ultimately claimed a comfortable victory in 3:57.01 for a new Championship record downing Laszlo Cseh‘s 3:57.27 from 2009 and going within 0.54secs of Ilya Borodin‘s European record of 3:56.47 who added the European short-course title to his long-course crown said: “It was a great week with great results “I was confident after the 200m fly and 200m IM and it was a really good race with Duncan next to me “I’m really happy with the gold and with the time this was a fantastic end to this championship.” Scott won silver in 4:00.17 with Apostolos Papastamos of Greece third in 4:05.19 sporting a cap all week with Thomas Ceccon‘s name emblazoned upon it set a Championship record of 28.98 in the semifinals Come the final and she led from start to finish to clinch gold in 28.86 It was the Italian’s second European short-course title over 50m following gold at Glasgow 2019 “Even if it’s not my best time I’m still really happy to win,” she said Sixteen-year-old Eneli Jefimova took silver in 29.12 with Imogen Clark and Jasmine Nocentini sharing third in 29.41 to make it two Italians on the podium All eyes were on Anastasia Kirpichnikova and her tilt at the 400-800-1500 clean sweep two years after she won the treble at Kazan 2021 The Frenchwoman had dominated the longer races but she was in a three-way battle with Simona Quadarella and Valentine Dumont of Belgium in the 400 free The Italian held a lead of 0.08secs at 300m and was ahead by 0.30secs at the final turn Kirpichnikova came back on the final 25 but Quadarella got her hand to the wall first in 3:59.50 to win by 0.06secs Gold followed silvers in the 800 and 1500 and she said: “Finally I could do it it was a good race and a gold medal in this championship which did not start that well for me but it ended well Kirpichnikova clocked 3:59.56 for silver with Dumont claiming her first international medal in 4:00.84 David!” sang the crowd as David Popovici walked to his blocks for the men’s 100 free Alessandro Miressi led Maxime Grousset at halfway and the final turn before the Frenchman clawed back the deficit bit by bit It all came down to the final stroke with Grousset taking the win in 45.46 Popovici took third in 46.05 as the audience erupted the 19-year-old swamped with requests for autographs and selfies after he left the pool Grousset said: “I’m really happy to have a gold after a silver and a bronze The men’s 200m backstroke was a thriller with just 0.12 separating the first three home Long-time leader Mewen Tomac – the winner of the 50 and 100 – was 0.40 ahead at the final turn only for Lorenzo Mora to storm back on the last 25 and get his hand to the wall first in 1:48.43 Olympic bronze medallist Luke Greenbank took silver in 1:48.53 with Tomac third but this race should have been a crazy one to watch we competed something like 12 times with the French guy this week so this also made it exciting “Having the 200m on the last day is always tough but it was a good swim Barbora Seemanova went out fast in the women’s 200 free and was 0.58secs inside European record pace at halfway Freya Anderson though was tracking her all the way the pair going stroke for stroke before the Briton went ahead She led by 0.05 at the final turn before pulling away to win in 1:52.16 with Seemanova second in 1:52.66 and Anderson’s teammate Freya Colbert taking bronze in 1:54.07 “I’m really happy with the result and to have Freya (Colbert) on the podium as well really promising for Great Britain in the freestyle,” she said “I just had to stick to my race plan and it paid off I just had to stay calm and just stick to what me and my coach (Dave McNulty) went through before the race and just really tried to come home on that last leg.” MAIDEN 50M SHORT-COURSE CROWN FOR MARTINENGHI Nicolo Martinenghi led throughout to win the men’s 50m breaststroke in 25.56 leading home teammate Simone Cerasuolo (25.83) for an Italian 1-2 World record-holder Emre Sakci was third in 25.90 world and European medals – had mixed feelings despite claiming his maiden 50 title in the short-course pool “It wasn’t my best swim as I made some mistakes like with the strokes and the turn wasn’t good in particular which is great but for us it’s not all about winning as we are aiming for perfection and today I was far from it.” Tessa Giele – out in lane eight – shared gold in the 50 fly with Anna Ntountounaki of Greece in 25.10 now I did again and it comes with a gold – that’s brilliant.” finals – this is a great championship for me so I can say I am back and this is a fantastic start for the Olympic season “You may say I specialise in sharing medals like I did in Budapest 2021 (European Championships) for gold and then in Kazan for silver and bronze – but this doesn’t take away anything from my happiness.” Noe Ponti led the 100IM to the halfway stage before Bernhard Reitshammer came through from first to eighth on the breaststroke The Austrian took the win in 51.39 and said: “Though I was eighth at the 50m turn I knew I should go as breaststroke is my strongest stroke Ponti won his fourth medal of the meet with silver in 51.62 with Andreas Vazaios third in 51.91 Italy concluded the six-day meet with their sixth gold of the evening in the mixed 4x50m medley relay Silvia di Pietro and Nocentini took gold in 1:36.58 ahead of France (1:37.14) and the Netherlands (1:37.86) “After so many silver medals in the previous five days today was something big,” said Martinenghi Romania (AP) — Pope Francis opened a three-day pilgrimage to Romania on Friday by delivering a new appeal for unity John Paul II made the first-ever papal visit to a majority Orthodox country Francis referred to that historic trip during his opening speech before Romanian government authorities and his subsequent meeting with Patriarch Daniel just 10 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall was the first by a pope to a majority Orthodox country since the Great Schism divided Christianity in 1054 It was marked by an extraordinary welcome for a Polish pope who helped bring down communism and included spontaneous chants of "unity "This is already unity," Francis told Daniel on Friday "We need to help each other not fall into the seduction of a culture of hatred an individualistic culture that may not be as ideological as during the atheist persecutions It's the latest of Francis' foreign trips to poor countries where Catholics are a minority they are a divided minority between two Catholic rites Francis warned that all Romanians must come together even more now to confront today's challenges noting the huge numbers of people who leave the country each year in search of jobs depopulating entire villages and weakening the roots of Romanian culture "Only to the extent that a society is concerned for its most disadvantaged members can it be considered truly civil," he said Key moments during Francis' trip are his Mass for the largely Hungarian-speaking Roman Catholic faithful at the country's most famous Marian shrine He will also beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops who were martyred during communist rule "I'm coming to you to walk together," Francis said in a video released on the eve of his trip Francis and Patriarch Daniel recited the Our Father prayer in the Orthodox Cathedral a towering new construction funded in part by a $200,000 donation by John Paul when he visited in 1999 Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti stressed that while the two religious leaders physically prayed in the same place an important distinction for many Orthodox Ordinary faithful were on hand for the chant-filled service in sharp contrast to Francis' recent visit to Bulgaria when he was allowed to pray in the Orthodox cathedral in Sofia John Paul agreed to Orthodox demands that he visit only Bucharest and not Transylvania where most of the country's Catholics live Francis is fulfilling the itinerary that John Paul wanted to complete the issue of confiscated property of the Catholic Church that was given to the Orthodox during communist rule remains a sore spot in relations Gisotti said there were no plans for any public discussion of the dispute but didn't rule out private talks "We live in times of peace and understanding but we wish these relations (between churches) to become better," said Francisc Dobos "We should not be afraid of one another This visit should make us become better Catholics and better Orthodox and in the end The underground rapid transit lines have been under construction for almost two decades due to various project delays The cross pinnacle on the Tower of Jesus Christ will be ready to receive visitors in 2026 on the centennial of Gaudi’s death Now you can get your wine in Talence by paying directly in Bitcoin That’s because the state has to spend money on updating the railway infrastructure rather than subsidizing the cost of the popular pass Steffen Romstöck said that he would respect the residents’ choice and would take over the helm of the municipality which will come into force from 1 January 2025 Rethinking renewable energy sources for the urban landscape But operating them is still illegal under the country’s legislation can inform and inspire communities and entrepreneurs that still feel trepidation at the prospect of energy transition it has a unique modular design that allows it to be shortened and lengthened like a train that’s the promise made by the mayor of Paris the district has long been known as the hangout spot for the artsy crowds Hostal de Pinós is located in the geographical centre of the autonomous region the ranking considers several distinct but essential factors these quiet areas will now be available on all main routes in the country The academic institution shows a deeper understanding of the well-being of its students Six pools intended for swimming and leisure activities The Romanian city of Otopeni inaugurated an Olympic swimming complex this week in the presence of Cseke Attila The complex in Otopeni has a capacity of 2,797 seats for spectators press booths and a training room for high jump athletes The cost of the works was 34 million euros "I am happy to announce today the inauguration of the Otopeni Olympic Swimming Complex as long as the vaccination campaign will continue at the current pace training and competitions will resume in the normal regime,” shared minister Cseke Attila What does the Otopeni Olympic Swimming Complex include of varying lengths: one of which is dedicated to the needs of Olympic swimmers and three are intended for relaxation and recovery Some of these will be able to be used by the public when not used for competitions or training The Romanian Federation of Swimming and Pentathlon plans to organise the European Championships for swimming The 10th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns (ESCT) sets the stage for stronger cooperation between the EU national and local level to fast track Europe's transition to climate neutrality Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces An interview with the Mayor of a Polish city that seeks to reinvent itself An interview with the newly elected ICLEI President and Mayor of Malmö A conversation with the Mayor of Lisbon about the spirit and dimensions of innovation present in the Portuguese capital Bucharest’s Otopeni Airport restricted traffic of several types of aircraft after receiving recommendations from the Romanian Civil Aeronautical Authority The list of restricted aircraft includes the following categories: “Categoria A- Piper PA-31/Cessna 404 Titan; Category B: Regional Bombardier Jet CRJ-200/De HAavilland Canada DHC-6; Category C: Boeing 737 (-300 – 900) Embraer ERJ (170 – 195); Category D: Boeing 757 The Otopeni airport can accomodate aircraft in the categories A,B,C and D. People board a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for Türkiye at a military airport in Otopeni Three Romanian military aircraft and one C-17 Globemaster III based in Hungary departed for Türkiye carrying rescuers and equipment to provide assistance for the earthquake-stricken country according to the Romanian National Defense Ministry.(Photo: Xinhua) A rescue vehicle is loaded into a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for Türkiye at a military airport in Otopeni A Romanian rescue team boards a C-27J Spartan aircraft for Türkiye at a military airport in Otopeni People board an aircraft for Türkiye at a military airport in Otopeni Aquatics GB use cookies on our website to give you the best possible experience Some are strictly necessary for this website to function and cannot be switched off. With your permission, analytics and functional cookies may be set by us or by a third party provider to further improve the user experience and enhance our website. Read our cookies policy A medal of each colour boosted an eye-catching British Swimming medal tally further on day four of the European Short Course Championships as Duncan Scott took an outstanding 200m Individual Medley gold before a freestyle silver-bronze combo for Anna Hopkin and Freya Anderson Scott's glittering career roll of honour now boasts an individual European Short Course title after a scorching victory in the Men's 200m Individual Medley The six-time Olympic medallist had secured himself the centre lane for the final and he owned it throughout maintaining his advantage on the backstroke and then really exploding clear through the breaststroke phase to threaten the European record Bringing it home with his usual composed freestyle Scott dipped inside 1:51 to clock a 1:50.98 a new British record and more than two seconds clear of Italy's Alberto Razzetti in second Joe Litchfield swam a well-paced race of his own to threaten the podium Reflecting on his triumph and the role of this meet as he builds towards a third Olympic Games University of Stirling man Duncan said: "I think 2019 was the last I did of these and then I was playing around with morning heats as finals getting ready for Tokyo "I'm in good shape and have prepared well for this meet Joe and I can train together and push one another and tonight I'm delighted to nip under that 1:51 for sure." In what is becoming par for the course in Romania the Brits flew out of the blocks at the start of the evening session with Duncan's medley gold followed by a double medal moment in the Women's 100m Freestyle Anna Hopkin and Freya Anderson swum contrasting races in the final with Loughborough Performance Centre swimmer Hopkin sprinting into an early lead and looking to defend from the front with her windmill stroke Anderson - who trains at the Bath Performance Centre - built into the race Hopkin missed out on gold in the final touch after a thrilling finish with France's Beryl Gastaldello - and while it was silver and a personal best for Anna overtaking rivals to claim a brilliant bronze but the fact that I've got a PB each round and got quicker and I'm on the podium that means I have to be happy with that," said Hopkin People hadn't gone their fastest in the semi-finals so I tried to ignore what was going on around me and focus on my own race." Anderson added: "I couldn't see what time I had got or where I came - I had to ask Michelle (Coleman) who said I was third I was angry yesterday as I didn't swim my best race and I was quite in my own head Luke Greenbank swam well to place fifth in the Men's 100m Backstroke showpiece while Ed Mildred was sixth in the Men's 200m Butterfly Both Medi Harris and Kathleen Dawson had a fast turnaround from the Women's 100m Backstroke semi-finals to the final of the 50m event The pair finished seventh and eighth respectively over the shorter distance having been fastest and second-fastest overall in the semis of the longer race Other results (* denotes athlete missing out on qualification for semi-finals due to two-per-nation rule) Full results and information on how you can watch every single session from Otopeni 2023 is available on our 'What's On?' page A 28-strong Aquatics GB team blending Olympic champion experience with future potential will head to Singapore this summer looking to make their mark at the World Aquatics Championships Duncan Scott and James Guy tied for gold in the most dramatic of Men's 200m Freestyle finals to provide a truly unforgettable finale to the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships in London Ben Proud provided another sprint masterclass to defend his Men's 50m Freestyle crown as Abbie Wood set an eye-catching personal best in the Women's 200m Individual Medley on Saturday night at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships This work, Ramstein Airmen put down stake for Carpathian Summer, by TSgt Timothy Moore, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Bucharest National Airports Company (CNAB) has awarded Alstef Group an international terminal baggage handling system and screening upgrade project at Henri Coandă International Airport located in Otopeni The project will be completed over two years and includes 56 new check-in conveyors a new outbound sortation system with five new Standard 3 screening machines and a transfer connection to the domestic terminal Alstef Group will also manage the civil works/HVAC etc associated with expansion to ensure a fully coordinated approach to the project phasing “This is our first project working with CNAB” states Thibault Chambon Regional Sales Manager for the Alstef Group “and we have also been awarded a five-year operations and maintenance contract beginning at the completion of the project” continues Thibault Henri Coandă International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Romania and one of two airports serving Bucharest This is the first project in Romania for the Alstef Group which is expanding its presence throughout Eastern Europe with the recent award of a major upgrade project at neighbouring Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (Belgrade Airport) in Serbia integrates and supports automated turnkey solutions for the airport Its mission is to create intelligent solutions that not only meet the needs of its customers but also provide them with the long-term benefits of a tailor-made automated system that is efficient Across more than 10 countries and with installed systems on all five continents Alstef Group has around than 800 employees within its three business units: Alstef Automation The group generated revenue of €163.4 million in 2021 Floria Group has purchased the flower shop at Bucharest’s Henri Coanda Airport and will turn it into its sixth space after a total investment of over EUR 50,000 In the upcoming months the space will be turned into one that fits the Floria concept “The development plans of the Floria flower shops network targets expansion either by purchasing functional flower shops that we can remodel after the Floria concept or by franchising the concept alongside our partners Launching a new Floria flower shop is not out of the question provided that we find the appropriate spaces but we are more interested in taking over existing flower shops,” said Andreea Uceanu In 2017, Floria expanded by adding to its network two spaces: Floria Baneasa, opened at Baneasa Shopping City in March, Floria Ploiesti. The total investment for the year exceeds EUR 100,000. “On the one hand we sought to strengthen our position especially in the online area where we have been leaders for years via Floria.ro but also for the flower shops that are already opened it is important to continue the development as well as  by taking over new spaces that bring the Floria brand closer to offline consumers,” Uceanu explained April 19th, 2024 Europe, International, News, Previews & Recaps Day 3 of the 2024 Romanian Nationals unfolded in Otopeni with 19-year-old David Popovici taking on his 3rd freestyle event of the competition After already topping the 50m free (22.27) and 200m free (1:45.10) podiums Popovici tried the 400m free on for size and found the same gold medal-worthy success The teen stopped the clock in a result of 3:47.54 to handily defeat the field as the sole swimmer to dip under the 3:50 barrier Behind him was Vlad Stefan Stancu who collected silver in 3:54.38 while Nandor Nagy earned bronze in 3:55.56 Popovici’s result checks in as a new lifetime best shaving .45 off his previous career-quickest outing of 3:47.99 notched in the prelims at the 2022 European Championships he ultimately dropped the 400m free final but that’s where the Olympic finalist ripped the then-world record time of 46.86 in the 100m free and became the #3 200m free performer in history with a time of 1:42.97 Tonight’s splits for Popovici were as follows: Popovici’s time fell short of the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time of 3:46.78 although it wouldn’t have meant he’d contest the event in Paris should his time have made the grade Lukas Martens also just went a 3:41.98 in the 400 feee at a random meet in Germany btw Martens always seems to swim 3:41 at random meets but never quite puts it together when it really counts That‘s a bit harsh if you consider this is just his second 3:41 ever He’s won a medal at the last three World Championships and has gone 3.41/3.42 each time Hardly the record of someone who can’t put it together on the big stage When you go 3:41 in April and are still only #3 for the year 🤯 do a PB in off event and destroy the field The London 2012 200 free podium is incredibly cursed now that I think about it lol I have to imagine losing his WR lit a bit of a fire beneath him again but you do know it’s spelled “Aragorn” with a second R right I like that this article and the Pan Zhanle one are back-to-back That was my face when I used to do the 4 IM Ben Proud became the second-fastest man in history when he set a European short-course 50m freestyle record of 20.18 seconds in Otopeni The Briton was just 0.02secs outside Caeleb Dressel’s 20.16 world record as he took 0.08secs from the European standard of 20.26 held by Florent Manaudou since December 2014 It was the second European record of the meet so far following Noe Ponti’s 48.47 in the 100m butterfly on Wednesday Great Britain lead the medal table after day three with four golds three silvers and three bronze medals ahead of France (three golds one bronze) and Sweden (three golds and a bronze) Proud arrived in Otopeni without a European short-course gold to his name having won 50 free silver and 50m butterfly bronze at Copenhagen 2017 He led off the British quartet that won the 4x50m freestyle title and the 29-year-old looked ominous through the rounds In the final he split 9.64/10.54 while also lowering Vladimir Morozov’s Championship record of 20.31 set in 2017 has now won World and European long and short-course titles as well as Commonwealth gold The only medal missing from his extensive collection is an Olympic one He is the second British man to have won the 50 free short-course title with Mark Foster victorious on six occasions Proud said: “It was beyond my expectations “And to get a title in this tough competition is feeling great.” Manaudou and defending champion Szebasztian Szabo shared silver in 20.74 The Frenchman – who also won silver at Glasgow 2019 – said: “I’m super-happy with this silver as based on my performance in the heats and the semis I didn’t expect anything like this The 2012 Olympic champion paid tribute to Proud it’s a great feeling to add another medal to my collection and to stand on the podium with these guys.” saying: “We’ve been training together with Ben (Proud) recently and I can tell you there wasn’t such a gap that time – so he was really fast today and he clocked an astonishing record I’d say I’m on the right track after the disappointment in Fukuoka (2023 World Championships) you really need to put it together in short-course Daniel Wiffen delivered a masterclass in distance swimming in the 1500 free and was 1.18secs inside Florian Wellbrock’s world record at halfway before it slipped away from 900m the Irishman completely dominated the race and enjoyed a winning margin of 12.67secs when he got his hand to the wall in 14 minutes 09.11 seconds That elevated him to third all-time behind Wellbrock and his world record of 14:06.88 and Gregorio Paltrinieri’s 14:08.06 from the 2015 European short-course It was his second gold in as many races with the 800m to come in which he is the European record-holder in both the long and short-course titles Wiffen – the first Irish swimmer to win European short-course titles – said: “I’m very happy I hoped it was going to be close at the end David Aubry and Mykhailo Romanchuk finished in 14:21.78 and 14:22.18 respectively for silver and bronze Angelina Kohler led throughout to win the women’s 200m butterfly in 2:03.30 to claim Germany’s first gold of the meet and second overall It was Kohler’s first senior international medal and she could scarcely absorb her achievement this is three seconds better than my best time before the championship,” she beamed Helena Rosendahl Bach of Denmark took silver in 2:03.86 with Lana Pudar setting a European Junior record of 2:04.55 for bronze Medi Harris is best known as a 100m backstroker having claimed European and Commonwealth medals to her name Before Wednesday she had never raced the 200m backstroke in international waters she is the European champion having led throughout to touch in a Welsh record of 2:02.45 Teammate Katie Shanahan took silver in 2:03.22 to make it a British 1-2 with Pauline Mahieu third in 2:03.90 Harris – who is coached by Dave Hemmings at Loughborough Performance Centre after switching from Swansea – said: “This was really good “I’m doing this event for the first time in three years and I’m really grateful for my coach for pushing me today I’ve couldn’t have achieved this performance without him we are focusing on times but at the moment “If you’d told me a year ago that I would be here swimming the 200m back like this Arno Kamminga won the first individual titles of his career at Glasgow 2019 where he claimed the 100/200m breaststroke double the Netherlands swimmer has won medals in the Olympic The Netherlands swimmer was sixth at the final turn in the 100m breaststroke but a final 25 of 14.96 propelled him past the field and into the wall in 56.52 The double Olympic silver medallist had to contend with illness and burnout in 2022 which led to him missing his winter block of training He went on to win 100m silver in an historic three-way tie with Nicolo Martinenghi and Nic Fink at the 2023 World Championships and now gold in Otopeni He said: “It’s great to be back after four years and winning again “I had a hard time: first it was hard to take a step back from swimming and watch the others from the sideline and even if I wanted to race my body said no trained hard but the results did not come for a while – so now it’s great to achieve this Martinenghi won silver in 56.57 with Kamminga’s training partner Caspar Corbeau third in 56.66 Superb breaststroke and freestyle legs guided Charlotte Bonnet to the 100IM title in 57.47 Beryl Gastaldello was second in 57.67 for a French 1-2 with Louise Hansson claiming third in 58.33 “I didn’t expect this as I thought Beryl and Lousie would be faster than me,” said Bonnet “I’m really happy with this swim and it’s a good lead-up for the 200m IM which I swim tomorrow.” Michelle Coleman won her third gold as she anchored Sweden to victory in the women’s 4x50m medley relay in 1:43.26 The quartet were led off by Louise Hansson in 26.47 who handed over to sister Sophie for the breaststroke leg (28.96) and Sara Junevik on the butterfly (24.76) with Coleman coming home in 23.07 It was Sweden’s second relay gold following victory in the 4x50m freestyle Sophie Hansson said: “We are really happy to do really fast splits and get the title This is a good start for the build-up to the Olympics and it’s always great to swim for the team.” Italy were second in 1:43.97 with Great Britain third in 1:44.67 Tes Schouten led the way in the women’s 200m breaststroke in 2:16.98 Anna Hopkin headed the 100 free semis in 51.70 the only woman inside 52secs and Louise Hansson booked lane four for the 50 back in 26.23 Olympic silver medallist Duncan Scott was comfortably the swiftest into the 200IM final in 1:51.90 from which 10-time World short-course medallist Thomas Ceccon was disqualified French pair Mewen Tomac – the 50 back gold medallist – and Yohann Ndoye Brouard booked lanes four and five in the 100 back in 50.01 and 50.19 respectively Ponti – fresh from his European 100 fly record – is in pole position in the 200 The athlete nicknamed „The Russian Tank” was banned from Otopeni Airport and was forced to leave the country Russian Olympic wrestling champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev attempted to come to Romania to attend the European Championship in Bucharest Dubbed "The Russian Tank," Sadulaev participated two years ago in the pro-war rally organized by Vladimir Putin Authorities in our country banned him from entry due to visa issues this edition of the European Championships will take place without me In Spain, where I departed for Bucharest, I never had a problem, there were no questions asked. Everything is done at the whim of those in charge," Sadulaev said, according to Gsp.ro A reaction also came from Mikhail Mamiashvili president of the Russian Wrestling Federation customs officials did not allow him to enter the country They had doubts about his person and refused him entry into the country It is hard to imagine what the reason could be," was Mikhail Mamiashvili's reaction your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt After years of negotiations to join the Schengen area, Romania and Bulgaria now have free access for travellers arriving by air or sea from both countries land border checks will remain in place due to opposition primarily from Austria which has long blocked their bid over illegal migration concerns EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the change as a “huge success for both countries” and a “historic moment” for what is the world’s largest free travel zone it was comprised of 23 of the 27 EU member countries Around 3.5 million people cross an internal border each day Austria vetoed Romania and Bulgaria’s admission into the Schengen zone at the end of 2022 but allowed Croatia full accession Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007 and Croatia in 2013 a Romanian Member of the European Parliament told The Associated Press that it is “an important first step” that will benefit millions of travellers annually The European Commission has said for more than a decade that Romania and Bulgaria both meet the technical criteria for full accession which requires unanimous support from their partners Both countries have agreed to implement random security screening at airports and maritime borders to combat illegal migration and cross-border crime “Bulgaria’s full accession to Schengen will happen by the end of 2024,” Kalin Stoyanov “We showed and continue to show to illegal migrants that they should not take the road to Europe through Bulgaria." The lifting of border control is expected to facilitate operations at Bulgaria’s four international airports which in 2023 saw nearly 11 million passengers serves as the biggest hub for Schengen flights which constitute 70% of all flights While the eased regulations are expected to positively impact the tourism sector members of the European Parliament have voiced concerns about long queues at the EU’s land borders and the impact it can have on trade in the bloc’s single market as well as the health and safety of drivers Truck drivers are frequently stuck in kilometers-long queues at the borders of both Romania and Bulgaria The Union of International Carriers in Bulgaria estimates delays cost the sector tens of millions of euros each year By 2023-04-10T05:00:00+01:00 ROMANIA: București metro operator Metrorex has selected a consortium of Turkish contractor Gülermak and its local partner Somet to design and build the second section of metro Line M6 to Henri Coandă International Airport at Otopeni Line M6 will share tracks with the existing M4 from Gara de Nord in the city centre to 1 Mai where it will branch off to run over 14·2 km of new alignment with 12 stations to reach the airport A €242m contract for construction of the section between 1 Mai and Tokyo was signed with Alsim Alarko last year The four-year contract with Gülermak and Somet covers the 7·6 km from Tokyo to the airport including six stations Civil works on both stages of the project are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of this year Separate tenders are to be called for the supply of trackwork The project is being financed from national sources and a loan from the Japan International Co-operation Agency ROMANIA: Tenders have been called for the design and construction of a 15 km extension of București metro Line M4 from Gara de Nord to Gara Progresul with 14 stations This follows studies undertaken in 2017-19 by Metroul ROMANIA: Metrorex has awarded Turkey’s Alsim Alarko a €242m design and build contract covering the first section of București metro Line M6 The 6 km long section will have six stations (Pajura Site powered by Webvision Cloud Taxi companies operating at the International Henri Coanda Airport (Otopeni) are threatening to boycott the airport unless the ads for ride-share service Uber are pulled The announcement was made by the Confederation of Authorized Operators and Transporters in Romania (COTAR) taxi companies are paying EUR 220,000 every year for the right to operate in the area for the activity carried out at the Henri Coanda Airport the Government felt the need to pass an emergency ordinance to regulate the compulsory volume of cars providing taxi services at the airport.” “Unless the billboard advertising Uber is removed all taxi companies that pay taxes to operate at the airport will pull out of the airport We are doing this for a fair economy in Romania but also because we cannot turn a blind eye to the dangers that clients are exposed to by being misinformed,” the statement reads The COTAR representatives also stated that they want to provide a civilized transport displayed correctly and to guarantee the safety of clients that need taxi services The Romanian government will launch within the next month a tender for building a new terminal at Otopeni airport the project being estimated at EUR 700 million The investment in the new terminal will be financed from EU funds and from the budget of the state-owned airport company Airport passenger numbers have soared in Romania in the last few years due to income rise, cheap flights offered by low-cost companies and poor infrastructure across the country. Blueair and Ryanair entered domestic flights market in Romania controlled for years by the state-owned Tarom trying to benefit from rising appetite for flights between the large urban areas In 2018 Romanian airports have posted a 7.9 percent increase in passenger numbers up to 21.8 million an all-time high due to international flights while domestic passenger traffic slightly increased Romania’s biggest airport, Henri Coandă International Airport (Otopeni), controlled by the state-owned Aeroporturi București company (CNAB), posted an increase of its total passenger traffic by 7.9 percent last year to an all-time high of 13.82 million. Metrorex submitted the documentation for the construction of the 1 Mai Metro – Otopeni Metro in the Electronic Procurement System (SEAP) The contract will be launched only after receiving a green light from the National Agency for Public Procurement (ANAP) According to Economica.net the ping-pong game between Metrorex and ANAP could end this fall will be the largest infrastructure project auctioned in 2018 The project already has secured an EUR 320 million funding from Japan and most of the investment would be secured from European funds, but the Government of Romania is still awaiting a decision on this from the European Commission. with approved technical and economic indicators in the Government and expropriated expropriations Preliminary design was also carried out and on October 30 between the Ministry of Public Finance and the International Agency for International Cooperation (JICA) worth EUR 320 million for the preparation and implementation of the project The value of the loan assures the financing of consultancy services supervision of works and 33 percent of the value of the works for the execution of the resistance structure The duration of the works is estimated at 48 months. providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.