ROPER Christine

General
FROM JAMAICA TO CANADA
She was born in Jamaica and first left her birth country to attend boarding school in the United States of America. Later, she moved to Canada from Jamaica after graduating from university. "I had to get used to a lot of new things such as driving on the other side of the road, the food, the culture, the types of people, the big cities, and especially the weather. It was all a bit overwhelming and difficult at first and the hardest part will always be living so far away from my parents, who are still in Jamaica. Now [2018] that I have been in Canada for around eight years, I really have fallen in love with it. I think rowing in Canada is very special and exciting. It is one of the country's most successful Olympic sports and there are a lot of very inspiring crews that have come out of Canada. There are rowing clubs all over the country and I feel a lot of pride in representing them all at this level." (worldrowing.com, 01 May 2018; olympic.ca, 01 Jan 2017; jamaicaobserver.com, 15 May 2018)

RIO HEARTACHE FUELS TOKYO DREAM
She finished on the podium with the Canadian women's eight boat at every World Cup and world championships she took part in from 2013 until 2016, when the boat finished fourth at the World Cup II event. They went on to finish fifth at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, an experience that led her to question retirement. "The hardest thing I have had to go through so far was picking myself back up after the 2016 Olympics. My teammates and I had a good run from 2013 to 2015 but we fell short in the Olympic year. I spent more time than I should have going over everything that might have gone wrong and I felt disappointed in myself and guilty for letting a lot of people down. I questioned for a long time whether it was worth it for me to keep rowing. My biggest fear, which I think will never go away, was that I would fall short at the [2020] Olympics again. I know there is a lot of talent in the Canadian women this quadrennial and, personally, I know that I still have a lot of speed to find. I decided to make a push for 2020 because the fire was still there and I just want to win and race and have fun doing it. I want to see if I can end up with an Olympic medal, as I couldn't do it in 2016." (worldrowing.com, 01 May 2018; jamaicaobserver.com, 15 May 2018)