Susan Francia

The native form of this personal name is Francia Zsuzsanna. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Susan Francia
Personal information
Full nameZsuzsanna Francia
NationalityHungarian
American
BornNovember 8, 1982 (1982-11-08) (age 42)
Szeged, Hungary
Parent(s)Béla Francia
Katalin Karikó
Medal record
Women's rowing
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Eight
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Eight
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Dorney Eight
Gold medal – first place 2007 Oberschleißheim Eight
Gold medal – first place 2009 Poznań Eight
Gold medal – first place 2009 Poznań Coxless pair
Gold medal – first place 2011 Bled Eight
Silver medal – second place 2014 Amsterdam Coxless four
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Cambridge Coxless pair

Zsuzsanna "Susan" Francia[1] (Hungarian: Francia Zsuzsanna; born November 8, 1982[2]) is a Hungarian-American two-time Olympic gold medalist rower. Growing up in Abington, Pennsylvania as the daughter of Nobel laureate, Hungarian biochemist and mRNA researcher Katalin Karikó, she attended Abington Senior High School, followed by the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in sociology of law and deviance and a master's degree in criminology. She currently resides in Princeton, New Jersey, and is affiliated with the US Rowing Training Center.

Early life and education

Susan Francia is the daughter of Nobel laureate, Hungarian biochemist and mRNA researcher Katalin Karikó.[3] She is fluent in Hungarian.[4][5]

Francia began rowing as a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania in 2001.[6] She was a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division I All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.[7] She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in sociology of law and deviance and a master's degree in criminology. She also earned a master's in business administration from UCLA in 2018.[8]

Career

After graduating, Francia spent ten years as a member of the U.S. Rowing Senior National Team and won a gold medal in women's eight at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China and the 2012 Olympics in London, England.[9][8]

Francia won the Remenham Challenge Cup at the 2011 and 2006 Henley Royal Regatta. At the FISA World Rowing Championships in 2006, Francia won the gold medal in the women's eight with a new world's best time of 5:55.50.[7]

In addition to her international accomplishments, she won the championship eight at the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2012 Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She won the eight and finished third in the pair at the 2007 US Rowing National Championships. She won the double sculls at the second 2006 National Selection Regatta and finished second in the four at the 2004 U.S. National Team Trials. Francia finished second in the pair at the second 2008 National Selection Regatta, won the pair at all three 2010 Regattas and won the pair at the second 2011 Regatta.[10]

Coaching

Francia was an assistant coach for the UCSD women's rowing team for the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons.[11] In addition, she was formerly the head coach of the junior women's varsity rowing team at the San Diego Rowing Club.[12]

Personal life

In February 2021, with her husband Ryan Amos, she had a son born in the United States.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Susan Francia". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "Susan Francia". United States Olympic Committee. 2008. Archived from the original on August 15, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
  3. ^ Goodyear, Sheena (October 4, 2023). "Nobel winner whose work led to COVID-19 vaccines inspired her daughter to Olympic victory". CBC Radio. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "Karikó Katalin: Vakcinát fejleszteni elsősorban morális kötelezettség (Interview with Katalin Karikó)" (in Hungarian). HVG. December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  5. ^ Tonya Simpson (June 28, 2021). "Olympic rowing gold medalist's mom helped develop the COVID-19 vaccines". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  6. ^ "Former Quaker Wins Second World Rowing Title". University of Pennsylvania Athletics. September 5, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Susan Francia". Team USA. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Susan Francia - Women's Lwt Rowing Coach". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  9. ^ "Penn Athletes in the Olympics". almanac.upenn.edu. June 15, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Ed Hewitt (July 24, 2012). "Susan Francia - Four Years Later". row2k.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  11. ^ UCSD Tritons [1] Archived July 14, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Susan Francia - Assistant Coach
  12. ^ sdnews.com [2] Archived September 25, 2019, at the Wayback Machine "San Diego junior rowers sweep competition at Desert Sprints"
  13. ^ Krisztina, Balogh (February 25, 2021). "Nagymama lett Karikó Katalin". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  14. ^ "Csodaszép Karikó Katalin unokája" [Katalin Karikó's beautiful grandson]. szeged.hu (in Hungarian). March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.