Athlete of the Week on RRI – Fencer Ana-Maria Popescu

Ana-Maria Popescu won bronze at the Championships in Spain.

România Internațional, 26.01.2016, 13:37

Last weekend the city of Barcelona in Spain played host to the womens World Cup epee competition. In the team event, Romania ranked 7th. In the womens singles however, Ana-Maria Popescu grabbed bronze. It was the best performance for a Romanian athlete in recent days, which is why we have designated Ana-Maria Popescu Athlete of the Week on RRI.

The Beijing Olympic vice-champion entered the competition into the main draw, and eased past Josephine Jacques Andre Coquin of France in the first round, 13-10. In the second round, Ana-Maria Popescu defeated Tatiana Gudkova of Russia, 15-10, while in the quarterfinals she knocked out Violetta Kolobova of Russia, 15-8.

In the semi-finals, Ana Maria Popescu lost to Mara Navarria of Italy, 9-8. Subsequently the Italian fencer won the tournament. Ana-Maria Popescu was born on November 26, 1984. Her first notable result in international competitions came in 2001, when she became world cadet champion in Poland. In 2002 she became world junior champion in Turkey. Also in 2002 she ranked 3rd at the seniors World Championships in Lisbon.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics she ranked 16th. She made up for her poor performance four years later at the Beijing Olympics, where she walked away with silver. In 2010 and 2011 she was part of the Romanian womens epee team that won the world title. In 2013, at the European Championships in Croatia, Ana-Maria Popescu won gold in the singles competition and silver with Romanias national team. At the European Championships in 2014 in Strasbourg and in 2015 in Montreux, she won gold with Romanias team.

(Translated by V. Palcu)