Heinrich Popow

Heinrich Popow

Paralympics 2012: Heinrich Popow receives the Gold medal at the victory ceremony in London
Personal information
Nationality	German
Born	(1983-07-14) 14 July 1983 (age 33) Abay, Kazakhstan
Residence	Leverkusen, Germany
Website	www.heinrich-popow.com
Sport
Sport	track and field
Event(s)	100m, 200m, 4x100m, long jump
Club	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Medal record Men's paralympic athletics Representing  Germany Paralympic Games 2012 London 100 m T42 2008 Beijing 100 m T42 2004 Athens 100 m T42 2004 Athens 200 m T42 2004 Athens Lomg jump F42–46 2012 London 200 m T42 2012 London 4×100 m T42–46 IPC World Championships 2011 Christchurch 100 m T42 2011 Christchurch Long jump F42 2013 Lyon 100 m T42 2002 Lille Long jump 2006 Assen Long jump 2013 Lyon 200 m T42 2013 Lyon Long jump T42 IWAS World Games 2009 Bangalore 200 m 2009 Bangalore 4x100 m 2007 Taipei 100 m 2007 Taipei 200 m 2007 Taipei Long jump 2009 Bangalore 100 m 2009 Bangalore Long jump IPC European Championships 2012 Stadskanaal 100 m T42 2005 Espoo Long jump 2016 Grosseto Long jump T42 2005 Espoo 100 m 2005 Espoo 4x100 m 2005 Espoo High jump 2012 Stadskanaal Long jump F42/44

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 and European Champion in 100 metres sprint and World Champion in the long jump. In total, he won 27 medals at the Paralympic Games, World and European Championships.

Heinrich Popow specialises in 100 metres sprint, the most prestigious discipline in track and field. Furthermore, he starts in 200 metres, long jump and 4 × 100 metres relay.

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.

Heinrich Popow's family emigrated from Kazakhstan to Germany when he was seven years old. He grew up in Hachenburg (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 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 Fußball GmbH.