Vlad Stancu

2022 In April 2022, at the Multinations Junior Swimming Meet held in Kranj, Slovenia, Stancu helped set a new Romanian record in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay at 16 years of age with a final time of 7:28.43, splitting a 1:53.23 for the second leg of the relay.

2022 European Junior Championships

At the 2022 European Junior Swimming Championships, held in Otopeni in early July, Stancu won his first medal on day one as part of the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, swimming the second leg of the relay in a time of 51.11 seconds in the final to contribute to the gold medal-winning time of 3:18.93. Two days later, he won the gold medal in the 1500-metre freestyle with a Romanian record time of 15:05.47, breaking the former record established at the 2004 Summer Olympics by Dragoș Coman with a time of 15:06.33. The morning of the sixth and final day, he ranked fourth in the preliminaries of the 400-metre freestyle, qualifying for the evening final with a time of 3:54.96. In the final, he tied Krzysztof Chmielewski of Poland for the silver medal with a time of 3:50.61, finishing 2.47 seconds behind gold medalist in the event Lorenzo Galossi of Italy. Following his performances, Stancu announced his intent to compete at the 2022 World Junior Swimming Championships.

2022 World Junior Championships

Day one of the 2022 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, held starting 30 August in Lima, Peru, Stancu ranked third in the preliminary heats of the 400-metre freestyle with a time of 3:51.43 and qualified for the final. In the final later the same day, he won the first medal for Romania at the Championships, a silver medal with a personal best time of 3:48.38, which was just 0.11 seconds behind gold medalist Stephan Steverink of Brazil. Two days later, he won his second medal of the Championships, a bronze medal in the 800-metre freestyle, finishing in a time of 7:56.14. The sixth and final day, he won the bronze medal in the 1500-metre freestyle with a time of 15:17.97.

2022 Romanian Short Course Championships In November, at the 2022 Romanian Short Course Championships held in Otopeni, Stancu set a new Romanian record of 4:12.77 in the final of the 400-metre individual medley to win the gold medal. The following day, he lowered his Romanian record in the 800-metre freestyle to a 7:44.97, achieving the time en route to a gold medal-win in the 1500-metre freestyle with a personal best time of 14:41.14 that was over 51 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. On the third day, he finished 0.76 seconds behind the first-place finisher in the 400-metre freestyle to win a silver medal with a personal best time of 3:43.76.

2023 At 17 years of age at the 2023 Romanian Championships in April in Otopeni, Stancu won the senior and youth national titles in the 800-metre freestyle with a time of 7:58.38 on day one. The third day, 6 April, he won the senior and youth national titles in the 200-metre butterfly with a 2:01.03 before winning the youth national title and senior silver medal in the 400-metre freestyle with a time of 3:52.45. Day five of five, he won the senior and youth national titles in the 1500-metre freestyle in a time of 15:22.45 and won a youth national title in the 4×100-metre medley relay, helping achieve a time of 3:54.35 by swimming the butterfly leg of the relay.

International championships (50 m)

International championships (25 m)

Personal best times Long course metres (50 m pool) Event Time Meet Location Date Notes Ref 400 m freestyle 3:48.38 2022 World Junior Championships Lima, Peru 30 August 2022 800 m freestyle 7:54.02 2022 European Junior Championships Otopeni 9 July 2022 NR 1500 m freestyle 15:05.47 2022 European Junior Championships Otopeni 7 July 2022 NR 400 m individual medley 4:18.70 2023 Romanian Cup Otopeni 4 June 2023 NR

Short course metres (25 m pool) Event Time Meet Location Date Notes Ref 200 m freestyle 1:46.59 h 2021 European Short Course Championships Kazan, Russia 5 November 2021 400 m freestyle 3:43.76 2022 Romanian Short Course Championships Otopeni 13 November 2022 800 m freestyle 7:44.97 † 2022 Romanian Short Course Championships Otopeni 12 November 2022 NR 1500 m freestyle 14:41.14 2022 Romanian Short Course Championships Otopeni 12 November 2022 400 m individual medley 4:12.77 2022 Romanian Short Course Championships Otopeni 11 November 2022 NR

National records Long course metres (50 m pool) No. Event Time Meet Location Date Age Status 1 4×200 m freestyle 7:28.43 2022 Multinations Junior Swimming Meet Kranj, Slovenia 9 April 2022 Current 2 1500 m freestyle 15:05.47 2022 European Junior Swimming Championships Otopeni 7 July 2022 Current 3 800 m freestyle 7:54.02 2022 European Junior Swimming Championships Otopeni 9 July 2022 Current 4 400 m individual medley 4:18.70 2023 Romanian Cup Otopeni 4 June 2023 Current

Short course metres (25 m pool) No. Event Time Meet Location Date Age Status 1 800 m freestyle 7:48.10 h 2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships Kazan, Russia 6 November 2021 Former 2 400 m individual medley 4:12.77 2022 Romanian Short Course Championships Otopeni 11 November 2022 Current 3 800 m freestyle (2) 7:44.97 † 2022 Romanian Short Course Championships Otopeni 12 November 2022 Current Legend: h – prelims heat; † – en route to final mark