Loredan Popa, (15 July 1980, Vaslui, Romania) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n flatwater

canoeist Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

and current (2005) World and European champion in the

Canadian canoe Canadian is the byname used in some countries for the descendants of the birch bark canoe that was used by the indigenous peoples of Northern America as a convenient means of transportation in the densely forested and impassable areas of Nor ...

C-4 500m event. Popa's first international title came in 2000 as a member of the Romania crew that won the C-4 1000m and C-4 500 m gold medal at the European under-23 championship in

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

, France. In 2002 in Zagreb, Croatia, Popa won gold medals in both the C-4 500m and 1000m events. In the C-2 final in Zagreb, he partnered with his brother Constantin and took the bronze medal. He then moved from his hometown club of Constructorul Hunedoara in

Hunedoara Hunedoara (; german: Eisenmarkt; hu, Vajdahunyad ) is a municipiu, city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș ...

, Romania to Romania's premier club

Dinamo Bucharest A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinbu ...

. In 2005, Popa was selected to represent Romania at a major senior championship. In

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, Poland. He won the European championship in his first attempt as a member of the C-4 500m crew, with

Florin Popescu Florin Popescu (born 30 August 1974 in Iancu Jianu, Olt) is a Romanian sprint canoer who competed from the mid-1990s to 2005. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won two Olympic medals at Sydney in 2000 with teammate Mitică Pricop (gold: C-2 ...

, Silviu Simioncencu and

Josif Chirilă Josif Chirilă (sometimes listed as Iosif Chirilă, born 5 January 1983) is a Romanian sprint canoer who has competed since 2004. He won four medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with two golds (C-4 500 m: 2005, C-4 100 ...

. Popa also competed in the C-4 1000m race, winning a bronze medal. In August 2005, Popa's crew won the World Championship C-4 500m title. Popa was the only man to be selected to race over all three C-4 distances. In the 1000m event, he came close to winning another gold medal but in a tight finish Romania were just edged out by Poland and he had to settle for a silver medal. In the 200m, Popa again reached the final, finishing sixth. In 2006, Popa won his second consecutive C-4 500m title at the

2006 Canoe Sprint European Championships The 2006 Canoe Sprint European Championships were held in Račice, Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, ...

in Račice, Czech Republic.

References

Living people Romanian male canoeists 1980 births ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in Canadian Sportspeople from Vaslui {{Romania-canoe-bio-stub