Mojca Kopač (born 2 May 1975) is a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n former competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

. She is the 1993

Ondrej Nepela Memorial The Nepela Memorial ( sk, Memoriál Ondreja Nepelu), formerly known as the Ondrej Nepela Trophy in 2013–15 & 2017 and the Ondrej Nepela Memorial, is an annual senior-level international figure skating competition. Named after Figure skating at t ...

champion, the 1996 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion, and a nine-time Slovenian national champion. She represented her country at three Winter Olympics and qualified for the final segment twice – at the

1998 Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

, where she placed 23rd, and the

2002 Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soó ...

, where she placed 22nd. She reached the free skate at eleven

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

and four

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Personal life

Kopač was born on 2 May 1975 in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

. She married Louis Tiernan in 2007.

Career

In the 1991–92 season, Kopač won her first senior national title and was sent to her first ISU Championship, the 1992 Europeans in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland, where she placed 23rd. In February, she represented Slovenia at the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, France. Ranked 26th in the short program, she missed the cut-off for the free skate, to which only the top 24 advanced. In March, she competed at the 1992 World Championships in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, but was eliminated after placing 25th in the short program. In the 1992–93 season, Kopač repeated as the Slovenian national champion. She placed 17th in both segments and 18th overall at the 1993 European Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland. Ranked 16th in her qualifying group, she did not advance to the short program at the 1993 World Championships in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In the following seasons, Kopač continued to qualify consistently for the free skate at the European Championships. In 1996, she reached the final segment at the

for the first time in her career; she ranked 7th in her qualifying group, 15th in the short, 18th in the free, and 18th overall at the event in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. The next season, she finished 20th at the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne after placing 13th in her qualifying group, 13th in the short, and 22nd in the free. In January 1998, Kopač finished 13th (15th in the short, 13th in the free) at the

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy – it was her career-best European result. In February, she competed at her second

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

, in

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, Japan. Ranked 22nd in the short, she qualified for the free skate and finished 23rd overall. In April, she placed 24th (12th in her qualifying group, 23rd in the short, 24th in the free) at the 1998 World Championships in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, USA. In November 2001, Kopač competed at the Golden Spin of Zagreb, the final Olympic qualifying opportunity. Ranked 7th in the short and 10th in the free, she finished 8th overall in Croatia. Her placement gave Slovenia a spot in the ladies' figure skating event at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, Utah. At her third Olympics, she qualified for the free skate by placing 19th in the short program and went on to finish 22nd overall. In March 2003, Kopač qualified for her fourth and final free skate at the

; she was 13th in her qualifying group, 22nd in the short, 17th in the free, and 20th overall at the event in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In February 2004, she reached her 11th free skate at the

; she ranked 11th in the short, 18th in the free, and 17th overall in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary. She retired from competition after the 2004 World Championships and began coaching in

Aston, Pennsylvania Aston Township is a township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 16,592 at the 2010 census. History Aston was first settled in 1682 as a municipality and was ...

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP: Champions Series/Grand Prix''

References

External links

*
Slovene Skating Union: Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopac, Mojca 1975 births Slovenian female single skaters Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Living people Olympic figure skaters for Slovenia Sportspeople from Ljubljana