Adam Joseph Rosen (April 12, 1984 – December 19, 2021), often known as AJ Rosen, was an American-British Olympic

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

r who debuted in 2003.

Personal life

A native and resident of

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

, Rosen was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. His mother, Gay, is from the United Kingdom. He was named after his grandfather, who served aboard for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He graduated from

New Rochelle High School New Rochelle High School (NRHS), a public secondary school in New Rochelle, New York, is part of the City School District of New Rochelle and is the city's sole public high school. Its buildings were designed by the noted architectural firm ...

in 2002, after playing football for the school team for one season. Rosen was involved with the

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported Nonprofit corporation, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CA ...

, having earned a Cadet Senior Master Sergeant rank in 2001. He was also a part-time music entrepreneur. He was a dual U.S.-British citizen. His younger brother Brett plays baseball for the

Great Britain national baseball team The Great Britain national baseball team is the national men's baseball team of the United Kingdom. It is governed by the British Baseball Federation, and is also a member nation of the Confederation of European Baseball. History The Britis ...

. He died from cancer on December 19, 2021, at the age of 37.

Career

Rosen became attracted to luge while watching the 1994 Winter Olympics on television in his New Rochelle home when he was nine years old. He trained with the Canadian luge team. He finished 16th in the men's singles event at both the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, out of 36 competitors, and the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, out of 38 competitors. Rosen did not qualify for the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

, so luge did not receive UK Sport funding for the 2018 Olympic cycle. He qualified for the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

, along with Rupert Staudinger, where with inferior equipment he finished 22nd. His best finish at the

FIL World Luge Championships The FIL World Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place on an almost annual basis in non-Winter Olympics years since 1955. These championships are shown for artificial tracks. See FIL World Luge Natural ...

was 24th in the men's singles event at

Igls Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. He had the best-ever result for a British luger when he finished in sixth place at the Viessman Luge World Cup in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, Canada, during the 2008–09 World Cup season. He returned to competing after a 2009 accident in which he dislocated his hip and damaged his nerves.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosen, Adam 1984 births 2021 deaths American aviators American male lugers British male lugers American emigrants to England Lugers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from New Rochelle, New York Olympic lugers for Great Britain Jewish American sportspeople Jewish British sportspeople 21st-century American Jews New Rochelle High School alumni 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century British sportsmen