Alina Popa is one of the trending celebrities who has risen to fame as an award-winning professional Romanian bodybuilder and has made many waves on media. Over the years, she has risen to become one of the most talked-about Romanian bodybuilders. In fact, she now ranks as the highest-ranked Romanian bodybuilder on the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness Pro Women’s Bodybuilding Ranking List.
We have been able to dig out some facts about this woman. Sit back as we give you all the information you need to know to about her career, net worth, personal life weight height, and others.
Alina Popa Biography
Alina Popa was born in Brăila, a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania on the 12th of October, 1978. She took interest in athletics from an early age and initially competed in track and field to lose weight but later become obsessed with fitness.
When she started schooling she joined the school team attending aerobic classes. She discovered that her main area of specialization was in lifting weights and dumbbells and she competed in track and field, exercises so as to wade off some weight. Consequently, at the age of 19, she fully developed her interest in bodybuilding, fitness, and muscle build-up. Popa later went to college, where she majored in English education.
There is no adequate information about her family and siblings. But it is believed that she got much encouragement from her family in her sporting activities.
Alina Popa Professional Career
Popa started her career way back from the tender age of 19 years when she chanced upon a gym in her hometown in Brăila where she saw a young lady preparing for the National Junior Championships. She was inspired by this to start her own fitness regimen.
She kept on lifting weights for about two years before a trainer advised her to start training competitively. This propelled her into intensifying her weightlifting training capacity,
In 2000, Popa made her debut professionally when she featured in a region cup competition in which she worked hard to win but finished as the first runner up thereby coming second place.
Within the year, she still participated in the divisional National Championship where she became the second runner-up in the Championship.
Popa continued to put in much effort and determination in her career. And when she added up more weight amounting to 125 pounds or 57kg she became eligible to compete under the heavyweight level, thus, representing her motherland in several competitions in the capacity.
By the year 2006, Popa decided to change the base and left for Switzerland where she attained citizenship and represented the country in amateur competitions.
Heart-warmingly, Popa reached the climax of her career in 2008 when she was awarded the first IFBB pro card, due to her successful performance at the IFBB world’s competition. Again in the pro level that she had attained, she still represented her motherland in international competitions.
Popa made her international debut in 2010 and took part in the 2011 Ms. Olympia and her performance got her in the frontline positions in most of the IFBB professional bodybuilding competitions she participated in.
Notable among such competitions were the 2013 as well as the 2014 Ms. Olympia where she almost won but ran out of luck, finishing at second position. This goes to show that her trainer Dylan Armbrus who is the CEO of the Armbrust Pro Gym has been able to groom her quite well.
Unfortunately, Popa stumbled into an injury that kept her out of form during the popular Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix World Championships in 2015. However, she managed to pull through the injury and was featured in the 2016 edition.
Her coming back was a powerful and energetic one as she was able to claim two titles in 2018. They were the IFBB Muscle Vodka Tampa Pro as well as the 2018 Rising Phoenix World Championships. This made her to gain more popularity in her career.
Net worth, Salary
Owing to the fact that Popa has achieved much in her career with many accolades to her name, it is expected that she must have amassed a considerable amount of wealth over the years.
Her exact net worth is quite vague at the moment, but some reports have pegged her worth at about $1 million to $5 million.
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Personal Life, Married, Husband, Children
Very little is known about Alina Popa’s relationships. She was once a married woman but is now divorced. It is not certain if she has any kids of her own.
She now lives in Arvada, Colorado, and is a personal trainer at Armbrust Pro Gym in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. She is also a freelance fitness model with some e-zines and magazines.
Weight, Height, Body Measurement
It is incontestable that Popa has quite a huge muscle-build body physique. This scares some men off her sometimes. The bodybuilder stands at a height of 5 feet 6 inches or 168cm in height. Also, she maintains a contest weight of 175 lb or 79 kg.
5 Facts About Alina Popa
1. She Holds A Teaching Degree
The bodybuilder enrolled in college to study English and Romanian languages. After four years, she majored in English with a degree in teaching.
2. She Grew Up In A Middle-Class Family
Popa reveals that she was born and raised in a middle-class family. She made this known in a journal she wrote about her journey to the top. According to her, she wanted to be independent and make her own living. To explore the world and experience life and all it has to offer.
3. Popa Had No Idea She Would Be Good Enough For Bodybuilding
While growing up as a child, Popa was already athletic, having interests in sporting activities like track and field, Martial arts, and aerobics. However, she had no idea that the physical ability her body imbibed would help her build a career.
She didn’t know she would choose something so unusual and exceptional like bodybuilding. And she had no idea that she would become a successful one at that.
4. Her Strength May Have Been Hereditary
Popa didn’t take credit for her genetics because she has no control over them. For she knows how important genetics and abilities are for a particular sport. According to her, it’s either she inherited the traits or learned the traits.
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