Soviet and Russian athlete, Olympic champion Alexander Popov became the first in the world 6 times, was 21 times European champion. An honorary member of the Olympic International Committee is an Honored Master of Sports of the USSR after retiring from sports, he is engaged in business.
Alexander Vladimirovich Popov has already left the big sport, but during his career he managed to catch up with the champion Vladimir Salnikov, famous in the nineties, in terms of the number of achievements.
The path to the heights
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1971. The child was born in the closed town of Sverdlovsk-45 (Lesnoy) on November 16 in the family of employees of a secret enterprise. The boy was sent to the swimming section to go in for sports.
The coach managed to interest the pupil. He spent more and more time in training. This priority ultimately affected school grades. Alarmed by Sasha's failure, his parents recommended that he leave the sport, but the boy resolutely opposed it.
After graduating from school, Popov decided to continue his education at the University of Volgograd. He did not interrupt training. For a long time, the athlete preferred to swim only on his back. His mentor Anatoli Zhuchkov insisted that this particular style is the most optimal for him. However, Alexander noticed that there were no positive changes in his results.
After this conclusion, he passed to Gennady Turetsky. He took the approach that there is no point in pushing for anything. If the pupil himself does not understand that it is important for him, it is pointless to convince.
The new mentor saw great potential in the pupil. He recommended that he change his style to a free one. The tactics paid off at the European Championship. In the competition, the swimmer received 4 gold.
Achievements
The triumphant streak was continued by the Olympic champion, who brought 2 gold medals from Barcelona.
In 1994 Popov set a new world record. The next season added 4 new awards at the World Championships in Vienna.
The Atlanta Olympics brought worldwide fame to Popov. In the individual championship, he won 2 golds in the 50 and 100 meters. Games became the second triumphant. However, the most memorable event was the defeat of the favorite, American Gary Hall. He showed better results than Alexander, and all the bets were made on his victory.
The press counted on the championship title of Olsson and Hall in advance, so it was very difficult for Popov to fight. The athletes were actively supported by their compatriots.
In 1998, Popov became three times gold medalist at the Olympics and received the International Association Cup as the most outstanding swimmer of the decade.
In 2000, the 50-meter athlete set a new world record, and in 2005 he left the big sport.
However, the contribution to its development continues. The swimmer entered the International Swimming Federation and the Olympic Committee of the country, works in the Council for Physical Culture and Sports under the President of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Council of the All-Russian Voluntary Society "Sports Russia". In 2001, the presentation of Popov's autobiographical book took place. For a long time, the athlete remained the face of the Omega watch company.
Life after leaving big sport
A sociable and positive person does not maintain pages on social networks. However, he never refuses to communicate with fans or the press.
The athlete's personal life also settled. The swimmer Daria Shmeleva became his chosen one. After the official ceremony, the young people became husband and wife.
The first-born son Vladimir appeared in the union in 1997. In 2000, Anton was born in the family, and at the end of 2010, the parents rejoiced at the birth of their daughter Mia.
Since 2009, the All-Russian swimming competitions for children from 12 to 15 years old have been held for the Alexander Popov Cup. After the competitions in Kazan, a multisport format of the event was developed.
The athlete runs the Alexander Popov Academy company. The organization is engaged in the design of sports complexes. Over the course of a decade, it has implemented over 80 projects in the country, and plans to create a network of multifunctional complexes for the training of Olympic champions.
