Olympic champion David Popovici said on Friday that the ten days he has spent training alongside Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle have shown that the two can be friends despite their sporting rivalry.

'It was their idea for us to train together, and I was delighted. I thought it was an excellent idea because it sets a great example of fair play, friendship and all the values we, as athletes, should promote. It's an example of friendship because even the greatest rivals can train together, and perhaps even become friends. We've shown that we can be friends and that we can learn from one another. Every day, every training session, we both benefit, and we keep pushing each other. It doesn't feel strange to train together. Maybe years from now, when our rivalry has grown even stronger and become an even bigger duel, like Ronaldo and Messi, we'll look back at this training camp and think how brilliant it was. I just don't know which of us is Ronaldo and which is Messi,' Popovici said.

He added that the two swimmers had learned a great deal from each other in technical terms and that he had never before had a training partner capable of pushing him so hard.

'There are many technical aspects I've learned from him, and he's learned from me. From his push-off from the wall, which he does better than I do, to my stroke length, which is better than his. These are small details, but at our level they make a huge difference because everything is decided by hundredths and thousandths of a second. There are several technical elements at which he excels and that I'm trying to learn from him. Of course, I also have a few things he'd like to learn from me. (...) There are many details we'll only fully understand once this training camp is over. We haven't ruled out the possibility of me going to China to train with him there and continuing this exchange,' the Romanian swimmer said.

Pan Zhanle and David Popovici have discovered they share several interests, as well as one area in which neither of them excels - football.

'He's a really normal guy and a genuinely nice person, as is his whole team. We share quite a few hobbies, and I think he's adapted very well to the city. Probably better than I would have adapted if I went over there. I respect him for that, and I'm happy he's here. (...) He taught me some Mandarin, and I taught him some Romanian. I made sure to take him to the best Romanian restaurant I've found, and he really enjoyed it. We tried all sorts of food, including my favourite ice cream. I showed him some of Bucharest's attractions, and he said he liked the city. He seemed very sincere. Next we're planning to visit Peles Castle (in the mountain resort of Sinaia - editor's note) together because we'd like to show him more of what Romania has to offer. We played table tennis back in 2022 - he's pretty good, and so am I. Yesterday he spotted some football pitches near the swimming pool and wanted us to play football, but we're both hopeless at it,' Popovici said.

David Popovici was accompanied at the press conference, held at the Lia Manoliu swimming complex, by his coaches Adrian Radulescu, Dragos Luscan and Bogdan Stroe. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Adrian Tone; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)