Swimmer David Popovici and coach Adrian Radulescu, decorated by President Iohannis

Swimmer David Popovici and coach Adrian Radulescu were decorated on Wednesday by President Klaus Iohannis in a ceremony held at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace.The head of state awarded the Order of the Star of Romania in the rank of Knight to athlete David Popovici, and the National Order of Merit in the rank of Knight to the coach Adrian Radulescu following the results obtained at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest (June 18 - July 3).In this context, President Klaus Iohannis called on decision makers to get involved and create the framework that athletes need to perform."David Popovici and Adrian Radulescu are two young people who have reached extraordinary performances, they are the ones who honor our country and who proudly carry our flag all over the world. Romania has many young athletes with potential. However, unfortunately, in the field of sports infrastructure and concrete action plans, we are still far from talking about an essential contribution from the state. We need a clear strategy for Romanian sport, more investment and a very serious approach. The results of the athletes compel authorities to make a priority of this field. After all, sport is about education, discipline, passion, talent, fair play, about a society that develops harmoniously and healthily. Every young athlete needs to feel supported and encouraged by the authorities, and here I am openly calling upon decision makers to get involved and create the framework that our athletes need to achieve performance! Our athletes need more involvement from the central and local authorities both from a financial point of view and through the development and modernization of the sports infrastructure so that they can train to the highest standards," said the head of state.