
The report “Swimming with Obstacles,” produced by Alex Dima for România, te iubesc! The film is a lucid examination of how a country can sabotage, through indifference, the dreams and efforts of its most talented athletes. After David Popovici conquered the world and he issued a warning about the poor conditions in which athletes train, it seemed that the authorities understood the seriousness of the situation. However, It wasn’t long before reality struck harshly: new swimming pools, built at a cost of tens of millions of euros, remained locked, while those that were functional forced champions to breathe unrealistically toxic air. There is a huge discrepancy between the glitter of medals and the shamefully deficient infrastructure. What real chance does Romania have of building a future of excellence when its champions are forced to swim against their own system? This is a question we will try to answer in the debate Swimming against the system.