Gabrielle Rose (swimmer)
Gabrielle Elaine Franco Rose is a Brazilian-American competition swimmer who participated in the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics. A resident of Memphis, Tennessee, Rose swam for Stanford University, competed for Brazil at the 1995 Pan American Games and 1996 Summer Olympics, but later represented the United States beginning with the 1999 Pan American Games.
Early life
Rose was born November 1, 1977, in Memphis, Tennessee to Michael David Rose and Brazilian-born mother Regina Rose, and held dual U.S. and Brazilian citizenship, though her parents divorced when she was young. Her father Michael had served as the CEO of businesses that included the Promus Company, the Hotel Chain Holiday Inn and Harrah's Entertainment. Michael Rose subsequently married Debbi Fields, founder of food company Mrs. Fields. Gabrielle attended Memphis's St. Mary's Episcopal School, graduating in 1995. She swam and trained with the Memphis State Tiger Swim Club under Coach Dick Fadgen beginning at the age of five, and by twelve was the youngest swimmer in the Seniors group. Her older brother Matthew also swam for the Memphis State Club. As a seventh grade swimmer at 12, Gabrielle set a national age-group record with a time of 1:05.38 at the National Junior Olympics in March 1990. At 14, Rose earned five medals at the National Swim Championships of Brazil. In High School, Gabrielle earned Scholastic All American honors and was a Tennessee Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a Senior. An exceptional stedent, she graduated St. Mary's with a 4.0 grade point average.Stanford University
Rose attended Stanford University on an athletic scholarship, where she swam for the Stanford Cardinal swimming and diving team under Hall of Fame Women's Head Coach Skip Kenney. As a Stanford Senior she and Catherine Fox served as swim team co-captains, and Rose had a 200-meter Individual Medley world ranking of 12th with a time of 2:16.06. In all time Stanford Women's records, her 200-yard IM time of 1:58.86 was Stanford's sixth fastest as of 2009. In the 100 freestyle and fly, she had an all-time Stanford seventh-place ranking of 49.49 in the free and 53.78 in the 100 fly. Recognized for her achievements, she received All-American honors 22 times during her collegiate career. She graduated from Stanford in March 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree in 2009.While swimming for the Brazilian national team in 1991 in preparation for the 1996 Olympics, she was a member of the EC Pinheiros, São Paulo, Brazil sports club. Rick Bishop, who would later coach swimming at LSU in 2021, was Babrielle's head coach in 1996 when she swam at the Atlanta Olympics for the Brazilian National team.
International career
1996 Atlanta Olympics
Representing Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Rose finished 14th in the 100-meter butterfly, 22nd in the 200-meter individual medley, and 23rd in the 100-meter freestyle. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Rose finished 7th in the 200-meter individual medley final.At the 1995 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Rio de Janeiro, she finished 4th in the 200-meter individual medley, with a time of 2:12.64; 6th in the 4×100-meter medley, with a time of 4:12.76; 6th in the 4×100-meter freestyle, along with Paula Aguiar, Lúcia Santos and Raquel Takaya, breaking the South American record, with a time of 3:45.87; and 8th in the 100-meter butterfly, with a time of 1:00.34, new South American record. In the 100-meter freestyle heats, she broke the South American record, with a time of 56.13 seconds. At the 2002 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Moscow, Rose won three silver medals in the 100-meter individual medley, 200-meter individual medley, and 4×200-meter freestyle.
At the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Rose won a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly, and two bronze medals in the 4×100-meter freestyle and medley relays. She also finished 5th in the 100-meter freestyle, and 6th in the 200-meter individual medley. At the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, she finished 4th in the 200-meter individual medley.