| Nicholas Delpopolo | |
| Birth Name: | Petar Perović |
| Nickname: | Nick |
| Birth Place: | Nikšić, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Hometown: | Scotia, New York |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in |
| Country: | United States |
| Weight Class: | 73 kg |
| Rank: | Black |
| Rank Ref: | [1] |
| Dan: | 2 |
| Club: | USA Judo National Training Site at OTC[2] |
| Coach: | Carrie Chandler Ed Liddie |
| Worlds Rank: | R16 |
| Worlds Year: | 2010 |
| Worlds Weight: | Men's 73 kg |
| Regionals Type: | AM |
| Regionals Rank: | 1 |
| Regionals Year: | 2013 |
| Olympics Rank: | 7 |
| Olympics Year: | 2016 |
| Olympics Weight: | Men's 73 kg |
| Updated: | 8 December 2022 |
Nicholas Delpopolo (born February 8, 1989[3]) is an American judoka. He competed in the men's 73 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics; after defeating Cheung Chi Yip in the second round and Dirk Van Tichelt in the third, he lost to Wang Ki-Chun in the fourth round and was eliminated by Nyam-Ochir Sainjargal in the repechages.[4]
On August 6, 2012, Delpopolo was expelled from the Olympics by the IOC after he tested positive for cannabis.[5] Upon exiting the games, Delpopolo stated the positive test result was caused by "inadvertent consumption of food that I did not realize had been baked with marijuana, before I left for the Olympic Games."[6]
On August 9, 2016, Delpopolo competed again at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's 73 kg event, defeating Ahmed Goumar (Niger) in the first round, Odbayar Ganbaatar (Mongolia) in the second round, and ultimately losing to Miklós Ungvári (Hungary) in the Quarter-finals by penalty points. Delpopolo ultimately finished 7th in his division.[7]
Delpopolo was born as Petar Perović (Montenegrin/Serbian Cyrillic: Петар Перовић) in Nikšić, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia. Of Montenegrin heritage,[8] his biological parents left him as a toddler. After being orphaned for 21 months he was adopted as a 2-year-old by a New Jersey family.[8] As his adoptive father Dominic's family was from Serbia, they started adoption process there until eventually they were taken to an orphanage near Nikšić, Montenegro.[9] Several years later they adopted another child there, a daughter named Helen.[9]
Nick was raised by his adoptive parents in Westfield, New Jersey and attended Bergen Catholic High School.[10] [11]
In 2009, he went to Montenegro to see his biological father, but chose not to reveal himself because the man looked hostile.[8] Nick also plans to find his biological mother who is in Serbia.[12]