Alexander Popov is a Russian swimmer. Similarly. Alexander Popov is very popular for his sprint swimmer style.
Early life
Alexander was born on November 16, 1971. As of 2021, Alexander is 49 years old. Likewise, he was born in Lesnoy, Sverdlovsk, Russia. Thus, he is of Russian nationality. He was born to parents Vladimir Popov(Father) and Valentina Popov(Mother). Information regarding his parents’ occupation is not obtainable. There are also no details about the former swimmer’s siblings.
Moreover, when Alexander was a child, he was really afraid of water, let alone swimming. However, his father was very determined on having him take swimming lessons. Further information about his family background is not available at the moment. The Russian athlete prefers keeping such personal details limited to himself.
Education
Alexander has a Bachelor’s as well as a Master’s degree in Sports. He completed all his educational qualifications from the Russian Academy. Nonetheless, there are no details regarding the schools that the swimmer had attended in the past. For his extracurricular activities, he joined the Children and Youth Sports School located in his hometown.
Caption: A photo of Alexander looking bright and cheerful. Source: Wikidata
Career
Although Alexander later gained popularity for his sprint swimming style, he originally started as a backstroker swimmer. With time he gradually changed his style to freestyle. After he joined the USSR National Team headed by then-coach Gleb Petrov in 1990, he won his first medal in the Barcelona Olympics 1992. He was the winner of men’s 50 m and 100 m freestyle swimming. Four years later, he again won in the exact same categories during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Similarly, during the 1997 European Championships that was held in Spain, he yet again won another gold in men’s 50 m and 100 m freestyle category.
Throughout his career, he took part in many international competitions where he represented Russia and the Soviet Union. Alexander is well-known for the showmanship he showcases during his competitions. Another one of his incredible achievements was when he beat the 50 m freestyle world record in the year 2000. The 49-years-old swimmer won many medals back in the day. He took part in countless events such as the Olympic Games, the Fina World Championships, Swimming Championships, European Championships, and many others. Alexander officially announced his retirement in January of 2005.
More about his career
The swimmer served as a full member of the International Olympic Committee since his election in December 1999. He is also one of the members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. At the present, he serves as the Honorary Secretary for the Commission. Similarly, he is also been a member of the supervisory board of Adidas since 2009.
Caption: A perfect of shot Alexander in his element. Source: Swimming World
Net Worth
At the present, the former swimmer has a total net worth of around $1.9 million. Although he has not revealed his actual salary on the web, it is not a secret that he earns a decent salary. Details of Alexander’s properties are not available at the moment.
Relationship Status
The former Russian swimmer is married. To be more precise, he married in the year 1997. He and his wife Darya Shmeleva were in a relationship with each other for about two years before they decided to get married. Likewise, they have three children. The names of her sons are Vladimir and Anton, and their daughter’s name is Mia.
Rumors and controversies
In the year 2018, eight members of the International Olympic Committee( IOC) were accused of accepting bribes. There were some issues and the case was dragged to court to further investigate the matter. However, Alexander made it very clear that he did not accept any sort of black money and that his decisions were not an outcome of corruption.
Caption: Alexander posing with all the medals he won. Source: Facebook
Body Measurement and Social media
Alexander stands at the height of 6 feet and 6 inches. Similarly, he weighs about 87 kgs. His hair color is light brown and he has beautiful hazel eyes. In the past, he suffered a serious injury on his abdomen after he was stabbed with a knife. The injury could have been fatal if the doctors did not perform an emergency operation on him. It took him almost three months to completely heal through regular rehabilitation.
It seems like Alexander is not active on any social media platforms for now. Neither is active on Instagram nor is he active on Twitter. In the same manner, he does not have a YouTube channel of his own too. The former swimmer seems to be pretty occupied with his professional life and family to spare any extra time on social media.
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