Eileen Mary Coparropa Alemán (born March 31, 1981 in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

) is a freestyle

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, who won a silver and a bronze medal in the women's 50m freestyle event at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

. Nicknamed "La Sirena de Oro" she represented her native country at three consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

, starting in 1996.

The Pan-American Games

In 1999, when she was 17 years old, Eileen participated in the 13th Pan-American Games celebrated in Winnipeg, Canada in the 50 meter free style where she achieved a historic silver medal. It was the first silver medal in the history of the Panamanian swimming team in these games and she registered her best personal mark up until that moment: 25.78 seconds. The gold medal was won by the American Tammie Spats with a 25.50 second mark. In 2003, the games were celebrated in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. Coparropa Alemán won the bronze medal in the 50 meter free style with a time of 25.62 seconds. She was beaten by American Kara Lynn Joyce who won gold with a time of 25.24 seconds.

Olympic Games

Athens 2004

Coparropa competed in the 50 meter freestyle and qualified for the semifinals with a time of 25.57 seconds. Coming in equal 13th place, she did not qualify for the finals, however her time of 25.37 seconds was a new Panamanian record. It was also the closest a Panamanian swimmer had ever come to winning an olympic medal, either men's or women's.

Personal life

Coparropa is the oldest of two daughters of Pedro Coparropa and Guadalupe Alemán de Coparropa and began her swimming career at the age of 6. In 2004 she graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree in business administration with a specialization in marketing from Auburn University in Auburn,Alabama. She also received a degree in logistics from the same university. At the

1995 Pan American Games File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

, she finished 5th in the 50-meter freestyle. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, Coparropa finished 32nd in the 50-meter freestyle. At the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns an ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

, she won a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle. She also finished 9th in the 100-meter freestyle. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney, Coparropa finished 27th in the 50-meter freestyle, and 32nd in the 100-meter freestyle. At the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, she won a bronze medal in the 50-meter freestyle. She also finished 5th in the 100-meter freestyle.ISHOF list with all medalists in Pan Am Games history
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, Coparropa finished 14th in the 50-meter freestyle, and 30th in the 100-meter freestyle.

References

Profile

DeporMax

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coparropa, Eileen 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Panama City Panamanian female swimmers Panamanian female freestyle swimmers Swimmers at the 1995 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1999 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2003 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Panama Pan American Games silver medalists for Panama Pan American Games bronze medalists for Panama Pan American Games medalists in swimming Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Panama Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games