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{{short description|Canadian bobsledder}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Alexander Kopacz
| name = Alexander Kopacz
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| image =
| image =
| caption =
| caption =
⚫
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|1|26|df=yes}}
| nationality = Canadian
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| birth_place = [[London, Ontario]], Canada
⚫
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|194
0|1|26|df=yes}}
⚫
| birth_place = [[London, Ontario]]
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| height = 1.95m
| height = 1.95m
| weight = 112 kg<ref name=COCprofile>{{cite web |title=Alex Kopacz profile |url=https://olympic.ca/team-canada/alex-kopacz/ |website=[[Canadian Olympic Committee]] |accessdate=2018-02-19}}</ref>
| weight = 112 kg<ref name=COCprofile>{{cite web |title=Alex Kopacz profile |url=https://olympic.ca/team-canada/alex-kopacz/ |website=[[Canadian Olympic Committee]] |date=24 January 2018 |access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref>
| country = Canada
| country = Canada
| sport = [[Bobsleigh]]
| sport = [[Bobsleigh]]
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{{MedalOlympic}}
{{MedalOlympic}}
{{MedalGold|[[2018 Winter Olympics|2018 Pyeongchang]]|[[Bobsleigh at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Two-man|Two-man]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2018 Winter Olympics|2018 Pyeongchang]]|[[Bobsleigh at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Two-man|Two-man]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[IBSF World Championships (bobsleigh and skeleton)|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[FIBT World Championships 2015|2015 Winterberg]]|[[FIBT World Championships 2015 – Mixed team|Mixed team]]}}
}}
}}

'''Alexander Kopacz''' (born 26 January 1990) is a Canadian [[Bobsleigh|bobsledder]] and the reigning Olympic co-champion in the two-man bobsleigh event. He competed in the [[Bobsleigh at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Two-man|two-man event]] at the [[2018 Winter Olympics]].<ref name="bio">{{cite web |url=https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/game-time/results/OWG2018/en/bobsleigh/athlete-profile-n3025496-alexander-kopacz.htm |title=Alexander Kopacz |work=Pyeongchang 2018 |accessdate=17 February 2018}}</ref> Kopacz and pilot [[Justin Kripps]] tied with the German team of [[Francesco Friedrich]] and [[Thorsten Margis]] for the gold medal.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/kripps-kopacz-secure-man-bobsleigh-gold-for-canada.html|title=Canada's Kripps, Kopacz tie Germany for 2-man bobsleigh gold|website=[[CBC Sports]]|accessdate=2018-02-19|date=2018-02-19}}</ref>
'''Alexander Kopacz''' (born 26 January 1990) is a Canadian [[Bobsleigh|bobsledder]] and the reigning Olympic co-champion in the two-man bobsleigh event. He competed in the [[Bobsleigh at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Two-man|two-man event]] at the [[2018 Winter Olympics]].<ref name="bio">{{cite web |url=https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/game-time/results/OWG2018/en/bobsleigh/athlete-profile-n3025496-alexander-kopacz.htm |title=Alexander Kopacz |website=PyeongChang2018.com |publisher=[[PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games]] |accessdate=17 February 2018 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420044430/https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/game-time/results/OWG2018/en/bobsleigh/athlete-profile-n3025496-alexander-kopacz.htm |archive-date=20 April 2018}}</ref> Kopacz and pilot [[Justin Kripps]] tied with the German team of [[Francesco Friedrich]] and [[Thorsten Margis]] for the gold medal.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/kripps-kopacz-secure-man-bobsleigh-gold-for-canada.html|title=Canada's Kripps, Kopacz tie Germany for 2-man bobsleigh gold|website=[[CBC Sports]]|accessdate=19 February 2018|date=19 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219195416/https://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/kripps-kopacz-secure-man-bobsleigh-gold-for-canada.html|archive-date=19 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Kopacz started his sporting career as a varsity level [[shot put]]ter at [[University of Western Ontario]] in London, Ontario.<ref name=COCprofile/> With encouragement from his university coaches he attended a Canadian talent ID camp for bobsleigh athletes in April 2013.<ref name=COCprofile/> Kopacz would start racing later that year with [[Nick Poloniato]] on the North American race circuit. The next year he competed with [[Chris Spring]] in the [[2014–15 Bobsleigh World Cup]], his first year in the top level circuit.<ref name=COCprofile/> At the [[FIBT World Championships 2015|2015 World Championships]] Kopacz battled through [[pneumonia]] to help push Spring to eigth place in the four-man bobsled.<ref name=COCprofile/> He stepped on the podium for the first time at the World Cup event in [[Lake Placid, New York]], as part of [[Justin Kripps]]' four-man team.<ref name=COCprofile/>
Kopacz started his sporting career as a varsity level [[shot put]]ter at [[University of Western Ontario]] in London, Ontario.<ref name=COCprofile/> With encouragement from his university coaches he attended a Canadian talent ID camp for bobsleigh athletes in April 2013.<ref name=COCprofile/> Kopacz would start racing later that year with [[Nick Poloniato]] on the North American race circuit. The next year he competed with [[Chris Spring]] in the [[2014–15 Bobsleigh World Cup]], his first year in the top level circuit.<ref name=COCprofile/> At the [[FIBT World Championships 2015|2015 World Championships]] Kopacz battled through [[pneumonia]] to help push Spring to eighth place in the four-man bobsled.<ref name=COCprofile/> He stepped on the podium for the first time at the World Cup event in [[Lake Placid, New York]], as part of [[Justin Kripps]]' four-man team.<ref name=COCprofile/>


During the [[2016–17 Bobsleigh World Cup]] Kopacz missed the first half of the season due to an [[adductor muscles of the hip|adductor]] tear.<ref name=COCprofile/> He would return to the World Championships, again pushing Kripps to a sixth-place finish in the four-man. The next season he and Kripps found their groove, they would earn four podium finishes together in the [[2016–17 Bobsleigh World Cup]] and finish first overall in the World Cup to win the Crystal Globe as overall World Cup champions.<ref name=COCprofile/>
During the [[2016–17 Bobsleigh World Cup]] Kopacz missed the first half of the season due to an [[adductor muscles of the hip|adductor]] tear.<ref name=COCprofile/> He would return to the World Championships, again pushing Kripps to a sixth-place finish in the four-man. The next season he and Kripps found their groove, they would earn four podium finishes together in the [[2016–17 Bobsleigh World Cup]] and finish first overall in the World Cup to win the Crystal Globe as overall World Cup champions.<ref name=COCprofile/>


They would carry this momentum into the [[2018 Winter Olympics]] in [[Pyeongchang County|Pyeongchang]], [[South Korea]]. In the two-man competition he pushed Kripps two second place through the first two of four runs. In the second day of competition, they were in the lead after three runs. In the fourth and final run they were just a few one hundredths behind [[Francesco Friedrich]] of [[Germany]], but in the final run they made up enough time to win gold. In fact the run put them in a tie with Friedrich for the top of the podium. Kripps and Kopacz began celebrating with team, family, and friends. Kopacz said of the gold medal that "within a couple minutes it was a sea of emotion, a sea of teammates and tears from my parents."<ref>{{cite news |title=Canada's golden bobsleigh duo is a perfect pair |url=https://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/canada-golden-bobsleigh-duo-perfect-pair.html |website=[[CBC Sports]] |date=February 18, 2018}}</ref>
They would carry this momentum into the [[2018 Winter Olympics]] in [[Pyeongchang County|Pyeongchang]], [[South Korea]]. In the two-man competition he pushed Kripps to second place through the first two of four runs. In the second day of competition, they were in the lead after three runs. In the fourth and final run they were just a few one hundredths behind [[Francesco Friedrich]] of [[Germany]], but in the final run they made up enough time to win gold. In fact the run put them in a tie with Friedrich for the top of the podium. Kripps and Kopacz began celebrating with team, family, and friends. Kopacz said of the gold medal that "within a couple minutes it was a sea of emotion, a sea of teammates and tears from my parents."<ref>{{cite news |title=Canada's golden bobsleigh duo is a perfect pair |url=https://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/canada-golden-bobsleigh-duo-perfect-pair.html |website=[[CBC Sports]] |date=18 February 2018 |access-date=19 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219201740/https://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/canada-golden-bobsleigh-duo-perfect-pair.html |archive-date=19 February 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Personal==
==Personal==
He completed his mechanical engineering degree at [[University of Western Ontario]] in 2013 and a physics degree in 2018 at [[University of Western Ontario]], and is co-founder of Step Sciences.<ref name=COCprofile/> He contracted [[COVID-19]] in April 2021 and was later hospitalized in [[London, Ontario]];<ref>{{Cite news|title='Now that I'm hooked up to oxygen I have hope again': Canadian Olympian battling COVID-19 |language=en-CA|publisher=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/olympic-gold-medalist-alex-kopacz-in-hospital-with-covid-1.6000944|first1=Laura |last1=Clementson|first2=Katie |last2=Nicholson |date=2021-04-24 |access-date=2021-04-24}}</ref> he was one of the participants in a study of [[long COVID]] conducted by five medical institutions in Ontario in 2021–22.<ref>{{cite news |first=Crystal |last=Mackay |url=https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-lung-imaging-technique-covid-symptoms.html |title=Innovative lung-imaging technique shows cause of long COVID symptoms |website=MedicalXpress |date=2022-06-28 |access-date=2022-07-05 }}</ref>
He completed his mechanical engineering degree at [[University of Western Ontario]] in 2013 and keeps his skills up through contract work.<ref name=COCprofile/>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{sports links}}


{{Footer Olympic Champions Bobsleigh Two-man}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Bobsleigh Two-man}}
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[[Category:1990 births]]
[[Category:1990 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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[[Category:Canadian male bobsledders]]
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[[Category:Olympic bobsledders of Canada]]
[[Category:Bobsledders at the 2018 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Bobsledders at the 2018 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Canadian male bobsledders]]
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[[Category:Olympic medalists in bobsleigh]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Canada]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics]]
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[[Category:Olympic bobsledders for Canada]]
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[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Canada]]
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[[Category:Olympic medalists in bobsleigh]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from London, Ontario]]
[[Category:University of Western Ontario alumni]]
[[Category:University of Western Ontario alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian sportsmen]]

{{Bobsleigh-bio-stub}}
{{Canada-wintersport-bio-stub}}

Latest revision as of 04:56, 18 October 2024

Alexander Kopacz
Personal information
Born (1990-01-26) 26 January 1990 (age 34)
London, Ontario, Canada
Height1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight112 kg (247 lb)[1]
Sport
CountryCanada
SportBobsleigh
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Two-man
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Winterberg Mixed team

Alexander Kopacz (born 26 January 1990) is a Canadian bobsledder and the reigning Olympic co-champion in the two-man bobsleigh event. He competed in the two-man event at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[2] Kopacz and pilot Justin Kripps tied with the German team of Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis for the gold medal.[3]

Career

[edit]

Kopacz started his sporting career as a varsity level shot putter at University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.[1] With encouragement from his university coaches he attended a Canadian talent ID camp for bobsleigh athletes in April 2013.[1] Kopacz would start racing later that year with Nick Poloniato on the North American race circuit. The next year he competed with Chris Spring in the 2014–15 Bobsleigh World Cup, his first year in the top level circuit.[1] At the 2015 World Championships Kopacz battled through pneumonia to help push Spring to eighth place in the four-man bobsled.[1] He stepped on the podium for the first time at the World Cup event in Lake Placid, New York, as part of Justin Kripps' four-man team.[1]

During the 2016–17 Bobsleigh World Cup Kopacz missed the first half of the season due to an adductor tear.[1] He would return to the World Championships, again pushing Kripps to a sixth-place finish in the four-man. The next season he and Kripps found their groove, they would earn four podium finishes together in the 2016–17 Bobsleigh World Cup and finish first overall in the World Cup to win the Crystal Globe as overall World Cup champions.[1]

They would carry this momentum into the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. In the two-man competition he pushed Kripps to second place through the first two of four runs. In the second day of competition, they were in the lead after three runs. In the fourth and final run they were just a few one hundredths behind Francesco Friedrich of Germany, but in the final run they made up enough time to win gold. In fact the run put them in a tie with Friedrich for the top of the podium. Kripps and Kopacz began celebrating with team, family, and friends. Kopacz said of the gold medal that "within a couple minutes it was a sea of emotion, a sea of teammates and tears from my parents."[4]

Personal

[edit]

He completed his mechanical engineering degree at University of Western Ontario in 2013 and a physics degree in 2018 at University of Western Ontario, and is co-founder of Step Sciences.[1] He contracted COVID-19 in April 2021 and was later hospitalized in London, Ontario;[5] he was one of the participants in a study of long COVID conducted by five medical institutions in Ontario in 2021–22.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Alex Kopacz profile". Canadian Olympic Committee. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Alexander Kopacz". PyeongChang2018.com. PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Canada's Kripps, Kopacz tie Germany for 2-man bobsleigh gold". CBC Sports. 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Canada's golden bobsleigh duo is a perfect pair". CBC Sports. 18 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  5. ^ Clementson, Laura; Nicholson, Katie (24 April 2021). "'Now that I'm hooked up to oxygen I have hope again': Canadian Olympian battling COVID-19". CBC News. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  6. ^ Mackay, Crystal (28 June 2022). "Innovative lung-imaging technique shows cause of long COVID symptoms". MedicalXpress. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
[edit]
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