Ion Popa
Ion Popa (born February 2, 1957 in Romania ) is a former Australian rower . In 1984 he won an Olympic bronze medal with the Australian eight and in 1986 he was world champion with the eight.
Athletic career
The 1.87 m tall Ion Popa started his career in Romania. At the 1977 World Championships in Amsterdam, he finished eleventh with the Romanian four-man without a helmsman . In 1978 he moved to Australia.
In 1983 Popa was a member of the Australian eight. The aft rowed in the cast Samuel Patten , Bruce Keynes , Ian Edmunds , David Doyle , James Battersby , Timothy Willoughby , Ion Popa, John Quigley and helmsman Gavin Thredgold and won at the world championships in Duisburg the bronze medal behind the boats from New Zealand and from the GDR.
In the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles , the Australian eighth competed with Craig Muller , Clyde Hefer , Samuel Patten, Timothy Willoughby, Ian Edmunds, James Battersby, Ion Popa, Stephen Evans and Gavin Thredgold and won bronze behind the boats from Canada and from the United States.
In 1986 Ion Popa won the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh with the Australian eighth. Three weeks after the Commonwealth Games, the finals of the 1986 World Championships were held in Nottingham . The Australian crew with James Galloway , Malcolm Batten , Andrew Cooper , Mike McKay , Mark Doyle , James Tomkins , Ion Popa, Stephen Evans and helmsman Dale Caterson won with four seconds ahead of the aft from the Soviet Union and the United States.
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics , James Galloway, Hamish McLachlan , Andrew Cooper, Mike McKay, Mark Doyle, James Tomkins, Ion Popa, Stephen Evans and Dale Caterson made up the Australian eighth. The boat reached the finals, finishing fifth behind the boats from Germany, the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Ion Popa married the rower Susan Chapman in 1984 . The daughter Rosemary Popa , born in 1991, is also an internationally successful rower.
Web links
- Ion Popa in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
- Ion Popa at Worldrowing.com ( FISA database )
Footnotes
- ↑ Brief portrait on australianrowinghistory.com.au , accessed on January 19, 2020
- ↑ Entry in the Commonwealth Games , accessed on January 19, 2020
- ↑ eight finals in 1986 at worldrowing.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Popa, Ion |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian rower |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2nd February 1957 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Romania |