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Roxana Popa

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Popa and the second or maternal family name is Nedelcu.
Roxana Popa
Popa in 2014
Personal information
Full nameRoxana Daniela Popa Nedelcu
Nickname(s)Roxi
Country represented Spain
Born (1997-06-02) June 2, 1997 (age 27)
Constanța, Constanța County, Dobruja, Romania
ResidenceMadrid, Spain
Height1.51 m (4 ft 11 in)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2012–16, 2019–present (ESP)
GymCARD
Head coach(es)Lucia Guisado
Music"Tico Tico" by David Garrett & Arturo Sandoval/ "Delicado" by Raul Di Blasio
Medal record
Representing  Spain
FIG World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2014 Tokyo All Around

Roxana Daniela Popa Nedelcu (born June 2, 1997 in Constanța) is a Romanian-born Spanish artistic gymnast who has represented Spain in all her international competitions.[1] Popa first came into contact with gymnastics in her native Romania, where there is a long tradition in the sport, and there she had her early training.[2] Now, she trains at the Spanish National Training Center (CARD), and is a part of the EGAD Los Cantos Alcorcon in Madrid. A member of the Spain women's national gymnastics team, she competed at the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019 World Championships, as well as the 2020 Summer Olympics.[3]

Personal life

Popa was born on 2 June 1997 in Constanța, Romania, and moved to Spain in 2004. Besides her native language, Romanian, she is also fluent in Spanish, English, and speaks a little French. Popa's idols are Romanian gymnasts Nadia Comăneci, Cătălina Ponor, and Larisa Iordache.[2]

In addition to gymnastics, Popa has been involved in dancing since she was seven years old, and has competed in national level competitions. She taught dance at a school in Madrid while recovering from her knee injuries.[4] She has eight cats.[5]

Early career

Popa began training in artistic gymnastics when she was four years old. In 2004 she moved to Spain to be with her family, who had moved two years prior.[6] She competed at the Spanish Nationals in 2008, and despite winning everything, she did not make the podium as she did not yet have her Spanish citizenship. This was featured on a documentary of Canal Plus España.[7] In mid-2008 she received Spanish citizenship.[8]

When she was finally cleared to compete for Spain, she sustained an elbow injury training on uneven bars, which required surgery and intensive rehab, leaving her out of competition for a few years.[9]

Junior career

Popa represented Spain at the 2012 European Championships in Brussels. She qualified to the all-around and vault final, and was a third reserve for the floor final. She ended up placing sixth in the vault final and eleventh in the all-around.[7]

Senior career

2013

Popa's senior debut came in 2013, at the Cottbus World Cup, where she did not make any event finals. Later that month, she was named to the Spanish team for the European Championships. While there she qualified fifth into the all-around and seventh to the floor exercise final. She placed sixth in the all-around final and seventh on floor exercise.

In June she competed in the Mediterranean Games. However, she had a bad landing in the warm-up prior to the all-around and sat out the rest of the competition. The injury was not serious, and Popa was well enough to claim the Spanish all-around title the following month. She was named to the Spanish team for the World Championships at the end of summer.[10] During qualifications, Popa qualified tenth to the all-around, but missed out on the event finals. She placed twelfth in the all-around.

Popa was announced as a competitor for the Mexico Open in November and the Glasgow World Cup in December.[11][12] In Mexico, she struggled a little on the first day of competition, placing fourth, but came back strong to win the gold medal, 0.200 points over the silver medalist, USA's Peyton Ernst.[13] In Glasgow, things started out rough, when she bailed on her double-twisting Yurchenko vault for not getting the block she needed, and performed a very simple Yurchenko layout vault. She performed well on her other three events and finished fifth.[14]

2014

In early 2014 Popa was announced as a competitor for the American Cup taking place on March 1 and the Tokyo World Cup on April 5–6.[15][16] At the American Cup she had good vault and beam rotations, but hit her feet on her Pak salto on bars. On floor exercise, she impressed the crowd with her floor routine and finished in sixth place.[17] At the Tokyo World Cup she finished in second place behind Vanessa Ferrari of Italy.[18] Later that month she competed at a friendly meet against gymnasts from Great Britain and Germany, winning all-around gold and team bronze.[19]

In early May, she competed at the Spanish Cup, winning every event except balance beam, on which she finished in fifth place.[20][21][22] A few weeks later she competed at the European Championships, placing sixth with her team, seventh on floor exercise, and eighth on uneven bars.[23][24][25] In July, she competed at the Spanish Nationals, defending her title in the all-around and winning gold on every individual event except balance beam, where she won silver. At the World Championships she qualified to the all around. She finished 13th during the final.

At the Blume Memorial in November Popa had upgraded routines on bars and floor, performing very well.[26][27] She was scheduled to compete at the Mexico Open and was considered the front-runner to win, but suffered a knee injury in training the morning of the competition and withdrew.[28] The injury was diagnosed as a torn ACL and meniscus, and required surgery.[29][30][31][32] Upon diagnosis, her doctors discovered the injury was an old one, and had gone unnoticed until December.[33]

2015–16

Popa returned to competition in October 2015, competing at the Novara Cup.[34] Later that month she represented Spain at the World Championships but only competed on uneven bars.[35]

Popa was scheduled to compete at the Olympic Test Event in April 2016; however, in March she re-injured her right knee causing a meniscus rupture which prevented her from qualifying to the 2016 Olympic Games.[35]

2019

Popa did not compete for 3 years. She made her comeback at the first Spanish League in February 2019 and continued competing domestically for the first half of the year.[36] She made her international comeback at the Szombathely Challenge Cup where she won bronze on the uneven bars.[37] Popa next competed at the 2nd Heerenveen Friendly where she helped Spain finish second behind the Netherlands and individually she placed ninth in the all-around.[38]

At the 2019 World Championships, Popa, alongside teammates Cintia Rodríguez, Alba Petisco, Ana Pérez, and Marina González, finished 12th as a team during qualifications. Although they did not qualify to the team final, they qualified a team to the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo, giving Spain its first team berth at the Olympic Games since 2004.[39] Individually Popa qualified to the floor exercise final. She finished sixth in the final, scoring 13.800.[3] When asked about her comeback, which has been called miraculous, Popa said "I would not have been able to totally retire from gymnastics. I did well psychologically to heal myself. For me, every day is a challenge to face fears, anguish, and the anxiety of my imperfect knee. But I still keep going. I know that there are elements that I cannot do as a precaution in order to keep the knee in place, but if I have to take that risk, I will do it without hesitation."[40]

2021

In June, Popa won the gold medal on floor at the FIT Challenge, and was selected to the Spanish women’s artistic gymnastics team for the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Marina González, Alba Petisco and Laura Bechdejú.[41] The team finished 12th in qualifications and did not reach the final.[42] Individually, Popa qualified to the all-around final[43] where she finished 22nd.[44]

Competitive History

Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2012
European Championships (junior) 11 11 6
2013 Cottbus World Cup R3
European Championships 6 7
Mediterranean Games 5
National Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships 12
Mexico Open 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Glasgow World Cup 5
2014 American Cup 6
Tokyo World Cup 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Munich Friendly 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Spanish Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships 6 8 7
National Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Novara Cup 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships 13
Joaquim Blume Memorial 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2015 Novara Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
World Championships 17
2016 did not compete
2017
2018
2019 Spanish League 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
National Championships 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Szombathely Challenge Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2nd Heerenveen Friendly 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9
World Championships R4 6
2020 Spanish League 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2021 FIT Challenge 5 17 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Olympic Games 12 22
National Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)

References

  1. ^ "Roxana Popa Nedelcu" Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine. fig.lx2.sportcentric.com. September 29, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "INTERVIU cu ROXANA POPA, gimnasta noastră din lotul Spaniei - ArenaSport". Archived from the original on 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  3. ^ a b results Archived 2021-07-11 at the Wayback Machine The Gymternet. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "Roxana Popa Tokyo 2020 Athlete Profile". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  5. ^ "The Many Cats Of Roxana Popa". Dvora Meyers. 21 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  6. ^ moved to Spain Archived 2013-11-08 at the Wayback Machine Twitter. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Early Career Archived 2013-08-09 at the Wayback Machine The Couch Gymnast. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  8. ^ "La gimnasta de Pozuelo Roxana Popa consigue la nacionalidad española". Madridiario (in Spanish). June 16, 2008. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  9. ^ elbow injury, surgery, rehab Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Canal Plus. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  10. ^ "Report of the Women's Qualifications - Subdivisions 3 to 5" Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine. antwerpgymnastics2013.com. October 2, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  11. ^ Mexico Open Archived 2013-11-09 at the Wayback Machine. intlgymnast.com. November 7, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  12. ^ Glasgow Archived 2015-11-07 at the Wayback Machine. Glasgow World Cup Facebook. November 15, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  13. ^ Mexico Open win Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine. abiertodegimnasia.com. December 2, 2013, Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  14. ^ Glasgow results. British Gymnastics. December 7, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  15. ^ American Cup Archived 2014-02-12 at the Wayback Machine USA Gymnastics. January 9, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  16. ^ Tokyo World Cup Archived 2014-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Japanese Gymnastics Federation. February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  17. ^ American Cup results Archived 2014-03-12 at the Wayback Machine USA Gymnastics. March 1, 2014, Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  18. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics World Cup TOKYO CUP 2014" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. April 5, 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  19. ^ Munich Friendly Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine International Gymnast. April 12, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  20. ^ Spanish Cup, TF Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Gymnastics Results. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  21. ^ Spanish Cup, AA Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Gymnastics Results. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  22. ^ Spanish Cup, EF Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Gymnastics Results. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  23. ^ Euros, TF Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Gymnastics Results. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  24. ^ Euros, UB EF Archived 2016-08-04 at the Wayback Machine Gymnastics Results. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  25. ^ Euros, FX EF Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Gymnastics Results. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  26. ^ Spanish Nationals AA Archived 2021-10-11 at the Wayback Machine Ginnastica Artistica Italiana. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  27. ^ Spanish Nationals EF Archived 2014-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Spanish Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  28. ^ injury, Mexico Open withdrawal Archived 2015-04-03 at the Wayback Machine The Gymternet. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  29. ^ surgery Archived 2015-11-07 at the Wayback Machine Instagram. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  30. ^ meniscus Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Arabian Punch Front. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  31. ^ ACL Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Tumblr. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  32. ^ confirmed by her coach Archived 2015-11-07 at the Wayback Machine Twitter. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  33. ^ recovery Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Marca. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  34. ^ "Ferrari and Popa Will Return at Novara Cup". The Gymternet. October 9, 2015. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  35. ^ a b "Popa Injured, Will Miss Olympic Games". The Gymternet. March 28, 2016. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  36. ^ "Roxana Popa will compete for the first time in three years". Gymnovosti. January 24, 2019. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  37. ^ "2019 Szombathely Challenge Cup Results". The Gymternet. September 11, 2019. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  38. ^ "2019 2nd Heerenveen Friendly Results". The Gymternet. September 14, 2019. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  39. ^ "Spain Stuns with Olympics-Worthy Performance, While Italy Snags Bronze". The Gymternet. October 26, 2019. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  40. ^ quote Archived 2021-09-30 at the Wayback Machine FIG. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  41. ^ "Complete list of 2020 Olympic Athletes representing Spain". Spanish Olympic Committee (in Spanish). 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  42. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Team Qualification Results" (PDF). Olympics.com. 25 July 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  43. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Team Qualification Results" (PDF). Olympics.com. 25 July 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  44. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics - Women's All-Around Final" (PDF). Olympics.com. 29 July 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
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