Ekaterina "Kate" Mikhailovna Antropova (Italian: [ekateˈriːna ˈkeit anˈtrɔːpova]; Russian: Екатерина Михайловна Антропова, Russian: [jɪkətʲɪˈrʲinə ɐnˈtropəvə]; born 19 March 2003) is an Iceland-born Italian professional volleyball player. In 2022 she was named CEV Women's Challenge Cup-Most valuable player, and in 2023 was named CEV Cup-Most valuable player.
Ekaterina Antropova | ||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Antropova at the 2024 Summer Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | ![]() ![]() | |||||||||||||||||
Born | Ekaterina Mikhailovna Antropova 19 March 2003 Akureyri, Iceland | |||||||||||||||||
Height | 2.02 m (6 ft 7.5 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||
Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) | |||||||||||||||||
Spike | 3.35 m (132 in) | |||||||||||||||||
Block | 3.05 m (120 in) | |||||||||||||||||
Volleyball information | ||||||||||||||||||
Position | Opposite | |||||||||||||||||
Current club | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||
Number | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
Career | ||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Personal life
editAntropova was born in Akureyri, Iceland to Russian parents, both of whom were athletes: her father, Mikhail Antropov, was competing in the local basketball league for Tindastóll, while her mother, Olga Antropova[3] née Selivanova), was a handball player.
When Ekaterina was three months old, her father signed a contract with St. Petersburg Spartak so the family returned to Russia and settled in St.Petersburg, where she spent her childhood and early adolescence. She started playing volleyball at the age of 7.
In 2017, she moved in Italy with her mother, first to Reggio Calabria and then to Sassuolo: her first affiliations were therefore with Italian sports nationality.
Following a call-up to a training camp in 2017, which she did not attend, with the Russian Under-16 national team, as noted by the European Volleyball Confederation, she was registered as Russian; meanwhile, she filed an appeal[4] with the CAS in Lausanne for the recognition of her Italian affiliation as the first registration.
In 2023, the CAS ruling determined her nationality to be Italian, followed in the same year by the acquisition of Italian citizenship.[5]
Career
editAntropova's career begins in the 2018-19 season with Academy Sassuolo, in Serie C.
in the 2020-21 season, the team is promoted in Serie A2.
In the 2021-22 season, she made her Serie A1 debut with Savino Del Bene, the club with which she won the 2021-22 Challenge Cup and the 2022-23 CEV Cup.[6] being awarded as MVP in both cases; she also reached the playoff final for the league title in the 2023-24 season, the first for the Scandicci-based club.[7]
National Team
editIn 2017, she was called up to the Russian Under-16 team for a training camp in preparation for the European championship, but did not participate.
On August 10 2023, after obtaining the Italian citizenship,[8] she became eligible for the Italian national team and was called up for the European championship.[9] In 2024, she competed at the Volleyball Nations League.[10][11] She was selected for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[12]
Awards
editClub
editNational Team
editReferences
edit- ^ "Ekaterina Antropova Stats".
- ^ "Antropova stats for Scandicci".
- ^ "Olga Antropova interview" (Interview).
- ^ "Antropova appeals against FIVB's decision". 16 November 2021.
- ^ WoV (2023-08-10). "ITA W: Ekaterina Antropova Officially Becomes an Italian Citizen Ahead of 2023 Women's European Championship". WorldOfVolley. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ "Savino Del Bene wins CEV Cup".
- ^ "Ekaterina Antropova (Kate) clubs". women.volleybox.net.
- ^ "Kate Antropova is Italian". 10 August 2023.
- ^ "Ekaterina ANTROPOVA | CEV". eurovolley.cev.eu. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ volleyballworld.com. "Antropova Ekaterina - VNL 2024 - Players". volleyballworld.com. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ "Volleyball, Italy also beats Serbia: fourth victory in a row in the Nation League, now the finals". Quotidiano Sportivo. 2024-06-16. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ volleyballworld.com. "Antropova shines with 34-point performance against Thailand". volleyballworld.com. Retrieved 2024-07-26.