Iztok Čop (born 17 June 1972) is a
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
n
rower and Olympic gold medalist.
Biography
Čop was born in
Kranj
Kranj (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fourth-largest city in Slovenia and the largest urban center of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) and the Slovene Alps. It is located approximately northwest o ...
,
SR Slovenia, and started rowing at the age of 13 in
Bled
Bled (; ,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper Carniolan regio ...
, where Slovenia's best rowing club is located.
Originally rowing in the coxless pairs, Čop finished second in the World Championships in 1991, and won Bronze at the
Barcelona Olympics in 1992 with
Denis Žvegelj (the first Olympic medal for independent
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
). He then switched to the single scull, winning gold at the 1995 World Championship, but came fourth at the
Atlanta Olympics in 1996. He then changed to the men's double sculls with
Luka Špik, and won the 1999 World Championships, and gold at the
Sydney Olympics in 2000, which was the first Olympic gold medal for Slovenia since its
independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
.
Špik and Čop were the favourites to repeat the victory in men's double sculls at the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece.
The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...
, but finished in the silver medal position.
Špik and Čop came into the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
not as favorites; however, with a strong performance in the semifinals they became contenders for a medal. After taking an early lead and holding it until nearly the 1500 m mark, they lost the lead to the Italians and the later winners from New Zealand. They finished in third position, giving Slovenia its second medal of the Olympics after
Urška Žolnir won the gold 2 days earlier.
In 2008 Čop became the fourth Slovenian to compete at five Olympics, after shooter
Rajmond Debevec (eight Olympics) in 2000, biathlete/cross country skier
Sašo Grajf in 2002, and biathlete
Janez Ožbolt in 2006.
Čop lives in
Radovljica
Radovljica (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Slovenia, town in the Upper Carniola region of northern Slovenia. It is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Radovljica.
Geography
The town is located on the southern slope of the Karawan ...
with his wife Petra and daughters Ruby and Amber.
Achievements
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
* 1992:
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
(ESP) – 3rd place (coxless pair with Denis Žvegelj)
* 1996:
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
(USA) – 4th place (single scull)
* 2000:
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
(AUS) – 1st place (double scull with Luka Špik)
* 2004:
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
(GRE) – 2nd place (double scull with Luka Špik)
* 2008:
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
(CHI) – 6th place (double scull with Luka Špik)
* 2012:
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(GBR) – 3rd place (double scull with Luka Špik)
Junior World Championships:
* 1989:
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
(HUN) – 1st place (coxless pair)
* 1990:
Aiguebelette (FRA) – 1st place (coxless pair)
World Championships:
* 1990:
Lake Barrington (AUS) – 7th place (coxless four)
* 1991:
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
(AUT) – 2nd place (coxless pair)
* 1993:
Roudnice (CZE) – 3rd place (coxless pair)
* 1994:
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
(USA) – 3rd place (single scull)
* 1995:
Tampere
Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
(FIN) – 1st place (single scull)
* 1997:
Aiguebelette (FRA) – 4th place (single scull)
* 1998:
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
(GER) – 4th place (single scull)
* 1999:
St. Catharines
St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...
(CAN) – 1st place (double scull)
* 2001:
Lucerne
Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
(SUI) – 2nd place (single scull)
* 2002:
Seville
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
(ESP) – 2nd place (single scull)
* 2003:
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
(ITA) – 3rd place (single scull)
* 2005:
Gifu
is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...
(JPN) – 1st place (double scull), 2nd place (quadruple scull)
* 2006:
Eton (GBR) – 2nd place (double scull)
* 2007:
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
(GER) – 1st place (double scull)
See also
*
List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games
Only a small fraction of the world's population ever competes at the Olympic Games; an even smaller fraction competes in multiple Games. 950 athletes (648 men and 302 women) have participated in at least five Olympics from 1896 Summer Olympics ...
External links
IztokCop.com – Official website(
Slovene and English)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cop, Iztok
1972 births
Living people
Slovenian male rowers
Olympic rowers for Slovenia
Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for Slovenia
Olympic silver medalists for Slovenia
Olympic bronze medalists for Slovenia
Sportspeople from Kranj
Olympic medalists in rowing
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
World Rowing Championships medalists for Slovenia
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Thomas Keller Medal recipients
World Rowing Championships medalists for Yugoslavia