Alexandr Popov
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Popov (also Alexander Popov, Russian: Александр Владимирович Попов) (born 16 November 1971) is a Russian former Olympic gold-winning swimmer regarded as one of the greatest sprint freestyle swimmers of all time, and the only male swimmer in history to win four individual Olympic gold medals in freestyle events.
Honors[edit]
He was awarded the 1996 Russian Medal of Honour for contributions to sport. He was also named Russian Athlete of the Year and European Sports Press Union Athlete of the Year in 1996. He was also awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class, the Order of Friendship, and Honoured Master of Sports.
Professional Career[edit]
Popov was elected a full member of the International Olympic Committee in December 1999. He also represents the athletes on the IOC Sport for All Commission and was elected directly as one of seven athletes to the IOC Athletes Commission by the athletes participating in the 1996 Olympics. He was re-elected to the Athletes Commission at the 2000 Games and is now Honorary Secretary.
Popov has both a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Sports Coaching from the Russian Academy. He is a spokesman for Omega SA.
In 2009 he served as chairman of the RC Lokomotiv Moscow rugby league club. Since May 2009 he is a member of the supervisory board of Adidas.
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