Wonder Woman of the Week: Ana Maria Popescu
The Wonder Woman this week is one of the top fencers in the history of the sport, but she shows acts of heroism beyond the pisté. Ana Maria Popescu is an advocate for physical fitness in her home country of Romania, an active supporter of autism research, and even an honorary major in the Romanian Army. Popescu was born Ana Maria Branza in Romania in 1984 and started fencing as a child after trying both tennis and soccer. Branza dropped tennis because of the infrequency in competition, and dropped soccer after falling in love with fencing. It didn't take long for Branza to excel in the sport either. At only fifteen years old, she won her first senior (adult) national fencing championship.
As an adult however, Ana Maria Popescu joined a military fencing club in 2001 as a civilian where she rapidly earned the honorary rank of sergeant. This was all while earning her Bachelor's degree in psychology in Romania. She then earned her Masters in 2007 in sports. Branza then earned further honorary rank in the Romanian military due to her impressive fencing record- reaching the current honorary rank of major by 2015. But Popescu's fencing awards don't stop at honorary titles. She's earned several international fencing medals including an Olympic gold medal in the team epee event, an Olympic silver medal in the individual epee event, two World Championship golds in the team epee event, one World Championship silver medal in the team epee event, one World Championship silver medal in the individual epee event, three World Championship bronze medals in the individual epee event, and one World Championship bronze in the team epee event. Outside of competition, Popescu works to promote youth sports participation and works with a youth autism support group in Romania.
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