Zsuzsanna "Susan" Francia (; born November 8, 1982) is a Hungarian-American two-time Olympic gold medalist rower. Growing up in Abington, Pennsylvania as the daughter of

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

, Hungarian

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and

mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of Protein biosynthesis, synthesizing a protein. mRNA is ...

researcher

Katalin Karikó Katalin "Kati" Karikó (, ; born 17 January 1955) is a Hungarian-American biochemist who specializes in ribonucleic acid (RNA)-mediated mechanisms, particularly in vitro-Transcription (biology), transcribed messenger RNA (mRNA) for protein repla ...

, she attended Abington Senior High School, followed by the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, graduating in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in sociology of law and deviance and a master's degree in criminology. She resides in

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 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. She is fluent in Hungarian. Francia began rowing as a sophomore at the

in 2001. She was a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division I All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004. 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 The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 2018.

Career

After graduating, Francia spent ten years as a member of the U.S. Rowing Senior National Team and won gold medals in women's eight at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

in Beijing, China and the 2012 Olympics in London, England. Francia won the Remenham Challenge Cup at the 2011 and 2006 Henley Royal Regatta. At the

FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA, , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence on domestic soil.

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international Rowing (sport), rowing regatta organized by International Rowing Federation, FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer ...

in 2006, Francia won the gold medal in the women's eight with a new world's best time of 5:55.50. In addition to her international accomplishments, she won the championship eight at the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2012

Head of the Charles Regatta The Head of the Charles Regatta, also known as HOCR, is a rowing head race held on the penultimate complete weekend of October (i.e., on the Friday that falls between the 16th and the 22nd of the month, and on the Saturday and Sunday immed ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, 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.

Coaching

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

Personal life

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francia, Susan Living people 1982 births Hungarian emigrants to the United States University of Pennsylvania alumni Olympic gold medalists for the United States in rowing Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics American female rowers Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for the United States 21st-century American sportswomen Penn Quakers women's rowers