Susan Francia
Rowing
Olympic Gold Medal Rower
In 1984, when Katalina
Kariko and her husband
Ben Francia made
the bold and courageous
choice to emigrate to
Philadelphia from Hungary
(which was, at that time, still behind the
"Iron Curtain"), they could have never
dreamed of the success their two-yearold
daughter Susan would one day
achieve in athletics.
Unknowingly, Susan was integral in the
move, as it was her beloved teddy bear
that served as the perfect mechanism
for smuggling in money to start their new
life in Abington. While Katalina would
go on to have an illustrious career in
medicine (including making a significant
scientific contribution to what would
become the first covid-19 vaccine),
Susan's story is similarly impressive,
albeit in a very different world; the world
of competitive athletics.
Like her parents, Susan is exceptionally
tall, and by the time she was in high
school, she was 6'2" with a "relatively
athletic frame". As one might expect,
many coaches at Abington high school
tried to "recruit" her, and while she
gave many a chance, nothing truly
stuck. Nevertheless, she enjoyed the
camaraderie of the team environment
and also learned life-long skills that
would serve her well.
Susan was an exceptional student in high
school, and her achievement catapulted
her to the Ivy League, as she attended
the University of Pennsylvania. She made
a conscious decision to stay away from
athletics during her freshman year, yet
despite having more time, she did not
live up to her academic expectations
and had thoughts of reengaging in the
world of athletics. It is safe to say that her
decision would be life altering.
At the start of her sophomore year, Susan
decided to try out for the rowing team,
and as they say, the rest is history. Three
years later, she graduated from Penn
with both a bachelor's and a master's
degree in criminology, and also earned
All-American honors in rowing. Upon
graduation, she decided to decline job
offers to instead focus on the dream of
becoming an Olympic Athlete. To say
that she achieved that dream would be
quite the understatement, as she won
Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing games.
As great as it was to reach the top of
the mountain, Susan did it again in the
2012 games. And, this time, she had to
overcome a significant injury. A quote
from the team doctor, Tim Hosea, speaks
to her work ethic, determination, and
will: "I'm really proud of Susan. She's
done everything she needed to do, one,
to avoid an operation, and two, make
an olympic team. To have that injury in
an Olympic year, the slightest setback,
and she's done. You just have to go one
hundred percent to make the boat, which
happens to be the best in the world."
It was during her time in London that
she also had a connection with a fellow
Philly sports legend, Kobe Bryant. When
she had the opportunity to meet him,
she told him she was from Abington. He
responded, "Oh, the Ghosts," a reference
to the nickname for Abington High
School. "After that, he just called me
Abington," she said.
In addition to two her two gold medals,
she also has a number of other
accomplishments on her "athletic
resume", including a gold medal (and
world record) at the 2006 world rowing
championships, a gold medal at the 2011
world rowing championships, a victory
at the Remenham Challenge Cup, and
a gold medal (and world record) at the
2012 Samsung World Rowing Cup II.
Her accomplishments have inspired
the next generation of female rowers,
including a sophomore on the Rutgers
Women's Rowing named Catherine
Montgomery. Catherine cites Susan's
fierce dedication to the sport and her
competitive spirit as driving forces that
have made her a role model for so many
young rowers. That competitive spirit
truly came into play in the time leading
up to the 2012 Olympic
Games in London, as Susan
fought through a series of
injuries, including a herniated disc and
stress fracture of a rib. She retired from
competitive rowing in 2014 to pursue her
MBA degree from UCLA.
In addition to her athletic
accomplishments and the inspiration she
has provided, Susan has continued to
contribute to the sport in myriad ways.
She served as an assistant coach for the
University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
Women's Rowing team for the ‘17-18
and ‘18-'19 seasons, and was formerly
the head coach of the Junior Women's
Varsity team at the San Diego Running
club. She currently uses her degree and
sports experience to work in business
development at a biotech in San Diego.
Susan also enjoys motivational speaking
and loves to inspire people with her
Olympic stories of success and failure.
While her career has taken her to
many locations, the fighting spirit of
Philadelphia has always been a part of
her competitive DNA, and is a key reason
she now has the honor of joining so many
legends in the Philadelphia Sports Hall
of Fame.
By Jeff Kirsch
