Eileen Mary Coparropa Alemán (born March 31, 1981, in Panama City) is a freestyleswimmer from Panama who won a silver and a bronze medal in the women's 50-metre freestyle event at the Pan American Games. Nicknamed "La Sirena de Oro" (The Golden Mermaid), she represented her native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, 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-metre freestyle 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 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-metre freestyle 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-metre 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. She began her swimming career at the age of 6.
In 2004, she graduated with honours 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.
