Lisa Roman

Biography

Lisa Roman was in the bow seat of the women’s eight that won gold at Tokyo 2020. It was Canada’s first Olympic gold in any women’s rowing event since Atlanta 1996 and the first gold in the women’s eight since Barcelona 1992.

Standing under six feet tall, Roman has always had to overcome the fact that she was relatively short to be a rower. But she hasn’t let that deter her from her Olympic dream that was sparked when she made the national U23 team and won gold with the eight at the 2011 U23 World Championships. 

Roman began competing internationally as a senior in 2013 and has since stood on five world championship podiums with the eight. It started with a bronze medal in 2013, followed by silver in 2014, and then another bronze in 2015. Until a fourth-place finish at the 2016 regatta in Lucerne, she had also reached the podium at every World Cup event at which she had competed with the eight. 

In her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, Roman and the eight advanced to the A final, finishing fifth. In 2017 and 2018, she won world championship silver with the eight. At the 2019 World Rowing Championships, Roman and the eight finished fourth, qualifying the boat for Tokyo 2020. 

A Little More About Lisa

Getting into the Sport: Started rowing in 2008 because she wanted to try something new in her first year of university… It seemed simpler than figure skating (which she had done before) because the harder she worked the faster she got… Outside Interests: Graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in human development and sports management… Enjoys spending time with her dog, hunting/shooting, biking… Odds and Ends: Favourite motto: “Don’t count the days, make the days count”… Had been a competitive figure skater for 14 years and a dancer for eight years…