Romanian swimming star David Popovici says he has learned to "embrace" the demands of the sport after a challenging year in which he has struggled to cope with growing expectations.
Popovici, 19, shot to prominence when he won 100m and 200m freestyle gold at the 2022 world championships in Budapest, but the teenager left Fukuoka empty-handed in July after failing to defend his titles.
"It's been a busy year, but I've been through things every team or every person has to go through at some point," Popovici said on Monday ahead of the European short course championships in Otopeni, Romania.
"I've had my final high school exams, I had to get a driver's licence, I had to become a student. Juggling with that I've also had to work for the world championships."
Popovici holds the world record in the 100m freestyle, set in Rome last year, but came sixth in Japan. The man who replaced him as world champion, Kyle Chalmers, said at the time the Romanian's failure proved that "no one's invincible".
Asked what his experiences of falling short had taught him most, Popovici replied: "Simply that I have to not take myself too seriously. I should keep it simple. It's an honest and simple answer. Because it can become stressful at times.
"But I think stress is a part of it, I think we should better embrace it and try and work with it," he added.
"Expectations grew, and most importantly, I think, also my own expectations reported to myself grew. I think it's extremely important to not lose the passion that you started with."
Popovici is hoping to bounce back this week at home as he prepares for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He reached the finals of the 100m and 200m freestyle two years ago in Tokyo when he was still just 16.
"I feel very confident in my training and in our training as a team and I'm excited to see how I perform short-course," he added.
"Of course leading up to the Olympics which are after all the most important competition for me."