Heinrich Popow (born 14 July 1983) is a German sprinter. At the Paralympics 2012 in London he won Gold in 100 metres sprint. During his career he has been the

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and European Champion in 100 metres sprint and World Champion in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

. In total, he won 27 medals at the Paralympic Games, World and European Championships.

Disciplines

Heinrich Popow specialises in

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

sprint, the most prestigious discipline in track and field. Furthermore, he starts in

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

and

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individ ...

Athletic successes

Heinrich Popow started his sport career in 2001 at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Following an invitation for a track and field training at Bayer, he convinced his coaches by excellent results. Today he practises in a group of Karl-Heinz Düe together with heptathletes like the German Olympian Jennifer Oeser. At the World Championships in Athletics in Lille, 2002, he won a bronze medal in long jump and established himself as a top athlete. At his first Paralympics in Athens 2004 he won three bronze medals in 100 metres, 200 metres, and long jump. Popow boosted performance at the Paralympics in Beijing 2008 once again and won the silver medal by running 100 metres in 12.98 seconds. Finally, Heinrich Popow won Gold in 100 metres at the Paralympics in London 2012. With a time of 12.40 seconds, he prevailed over the Australian Scott Reardon and his German team-mate Wojtek Czyz at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

Childhood and job

Heinrich Popow's family emigrated from Kazakhstan to Germany when he was seven years old. He grew up in Nisterau ( Westerwald), in Western Germany. At the age of nine, his left leg was amputated up to the thigh as a consequence of an

Ewing’s sarcoma Ewing sarcoma is a type of cancer that forms in bone or soft tissue. Symptoms may include swelling and pain at the site of the tumor, fever, and a bone fracture. The most common areas where it begins are the legs, pelvis, and chest wall. In abou ...

in the left fibula ( knee disarticulation). In Interviews, the athlete points out that the amputation was harder for his parents than for himself. His biggest concern those days was about not being able to play football as he did before. Heinrich Popow describes himself as sports-mad. He tried several sports after his amputation, before starting track and field, in 2001, at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He works part-time as an IT system administrator at the football club

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, ...

Fußball GmbH.

Work with young talents

In addition to his athletic career, Heinrich Popow supports and motivates young talents. He visits amputees in hospitals to motivate them for sports after their amputation. At Bayer 04, he acts as a mentor for several young athletes and supports their career with words of advice. To reach young talents, Heinrich Popow relies on social media.

Popularity and positioning

Heinrich Popow is one of the most popular German athletes on Facebook. The number of his fans grows constantly. Due to his clear statements he became "probably the most admired

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

in Germany." Often quoted by mass media, Heinrich Popow became a needed voice of

Paralympic sports The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and abou ...

in Germany. The man from Leverkusen demands "respect and appreciation" for Paralympic athletes. At the same time, he claims a professionalisation of Paralympic sports. Popow defended lower bonuses for Paralympic athletes compared to Olympic winners. He explains his opinion with the lower competition within the Paralympic field. Furthermore, Popow defended the separation of the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

and

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

, otherwise the Paralympics would be eclipsed by the Olympic Games.

Nominations and Prizes

In November 2012, Heinrich Popow was repeatedly honoured with a Silver Laurel Leaf, the highest sports award conferred by the Federal President of Germany to outstanding athletes. In 2011, Heinrich Popow was one of the most promising candidates for the election of the German award
Disabled Athlete of the Year
. After his success in London 2012, he is again nominated for this award.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Popow, Heinrich 1983 births Living people Paralympic athletes of Germany Paralympic gold medalists for Germany Paralympic silver medalists for Germany Paralympic bronze medalists for Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics German people of Russian descent Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Medalists at the World Para Athletics European Championships Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) German male sprinters German male long jumpers Paralympic sprinters Paralympic long jumpers Sprinters with limb difference Long jumpers with limb difference