Category profile
- Dominance
- 72
- Peak
- 86
- Longevity
- 46
- Honours
- 70
- Statistics
- 80
Career timeline · Form index per season
| Season | Form index per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.9 | |
| 2022 | 46.86 | |
| 2023 | 47.16 | |
| 2024 | 46.88 | |
| 2025 | 46.4 | |
| 2026 | 46.5 |
Data sources
- World Aquatics
- Olympedia
- IOC
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why David Popovici ranks #41 in Swimming
David Popovici ranks 41st among Swimming athletes on GOAT Rank and 1021st of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 70.4 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 72, Peak 86, Longevity 46, Honours 70, Statistics 80. Those categories are normalised against the full Swimming reference universe of 288 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 2019–present with 6 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 2021, which sets the Peak component at 86. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 86 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes olympic golds 1, world titles 2, european titles 6, world records 1.
Immediately ahead sits Regan Smith on 75.3, a gap of 4.9 points. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
David Popovici GOAT Score explained
- Dominance72/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Popovici stood above the field while competing. Scored 72/100 against the full Swimming cohort.
- Peak86/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 2021. Scored 86/100.
- Longevity46/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 7 years of competition and 6 recorded seasons. Scored 46/100.
- Honours70/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 70/100.
- Statistics80/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 80/100.
Top Popovici comparisons
David Popovici — frequently asked
- Is David Popovici the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. David Popovici ranks 41st in Swimming with a GOAT Score of 70.4, behind Michael Phelps on 98.1.
- What is David Popovici's GOAT Score?
- 70.4 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 72 (25%), Peak 86 (20%), Longevity 46 (20%), Honours 70 (20%), Statistics 80 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does David Popovici rank all time?
- 1021st of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 41st within Swimming.
- David Popovici vs Regan Smith: who ranks higher?
- Regan Smith, on 75.3 against David Popovici's 70.4 — a margin of 4.9 points.