Gold medalist Constantin Popovici(C) of Romania, silver medalist Catalin-Petru Preda(L) of Romania and bronze medalist Gary Hunt of France pose on the podium during the awarding ceremony of the men's 27m high diving at the World Aquatics Championships 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan, July 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
FUKUOKA, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Constantin Popovici led Romania to a 1-2 finish in the men's high diving at the World Aquatics Championships here on Thursday.
The 34-year-old jumped off the 27-meter high platform four times in three days to score a total of 472.80 points for the gold medal.
Popovici's compatriot Catalin-Petru Preda took silver with 438.45 points, while Frenchman Gary Hunt, the world champion in 2015 and 2017, settled for bronze with 426.30 points.
Popovic, the bronze medalist at the 2019 worlds, said, "I feel very good. I've been working a lot for this, and you know all my hard work paid off."
Silver medalist Catalin-Petru Preda of Romania competes in the men's 27m high diving. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
At 19, Popovici made his Olympic debut in 10-meter diving at Beijing 2008, and one year later, he finished 8th at the World Championships in Rome.
In Fukuoka, he failed to qualify for the 10m platform but that made him focus more on high diving.
"I participate in both (high diving and diving) but I prefer high diving (because) it's free and more enjoyable. Please (tell everyone to) come to more high diving competitions, and you'll enjoy it for sure."
