Alizée Brien (born September 27, 1993) is a national team rower from Canada and former professional cyclist. Brien was a

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

champion when she won gold as part of the women's eight at the

2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games (), officially the XIX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santiago 2023, were an international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, held in Santiago, Chile from 20 October to 5 Novem ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, as well as adding a bronze in both the double and the quadruple sculls.

Career

Cycling

As a cyclist, Brien won a gold medal in the women's road race and a silver in the time trial at the

2013 Canada Games The 2013 Canada Summer Games is a national multi-sport event that was held in Sherbrooke, Quebec from August 2, 2013 to August 17, 2013. These Games were the first Canada Summer Games to be held in Quebec, and third overall after the inaugural Can ...

. She went competitive as a professional cyclist with Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank from 2015-2016. She competed at the

2015 UCI Road World Championships The 2015 UCI Road World Championships took place in Richmond, Virginia, United States from September 19–27, 2015. It was the 88th Road World Championships. Peter Sagan won the 2015 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, men's road r ...

with the team, finishing in 11th place in the women's team time trial. By 2017 she was riding only on the provincial cycling team, Équipe du Québec, and did not have other professional offers, thus she was riding almost solely on the provincial circuit rather than internationally.

Rowing

After the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, Brien realized she would not achieve her Olympic dream as a cyclist. In 2021, she spoke to her former coach at the Montreal Rowing Club and asked him if he thought she had a chance to compete in the sport as an Olympian, to which he agreed it could be possible. Within a month, Brien had quit her job as an engineer, started studying psychology at

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

and switched sports, taking up rowing with a goal of attending the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. She won both of her events at the 2022

Royal Canadian Henley Regatta The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta started in 1880 as the first championship for the newly formed Canadian Association of Amateur Oarsmen. History It changed venues often until 1903, when it was decided to hold it at St. Catharines Port Dalhou ...

, winning both her single scull races. In February 2023, Brien was named to the Canadian Pan American Games Qualification Regatta team. She placed 4th in the Women's Single Sculls event, thereby qualifying a quota spot for Canada at the

( Rowing at the 2023 Pan American Games – Qualification). Brien attended the

as a member of the Canadian rowing team, the first time she rowed competitively internationally in crew boats rather than solo. There, she won gold in the women's eights, while also winning a bronze medal in the double sculls with Shaye de Paiva and another bronze in the quadruple sculls together with Kendra Hartley, Parker Illingworth, and Shaye de Paiva. Following her three medal games, she told

Rowing Canada Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA), formally the Canadian Amateur Rowing Association, is a non-profit organization recognized by the Government of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national governing body for the sport of rowing in Canada. ...

of her Pan Am Games experience that "There have been a lot of memorable moments for me this week. But I think it has been the team and the team spirit that I will remember the most. Winning a gold medal in the eight was incredible but being part of the team and being with the support staff and getting to experience the Games with the crowds and volunteers, has been a lot of fun."

Personal

Brien received her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and worked as a junior engineer before going back to the

to study for a degree in psychology, where she also competed on the collegiate rowing teams for the

Montreal Carabins The Montréal Carabins () are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Teams play at the CEPSUM Stadium and at Winter Stadium (Montreal), l'aréna du CEPSUM, located at the Uni ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brien, Alizée 1993 births Living people Canadian female rowers Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada in rowing Rowers at the 2023 Pan American Games Rowers from Quebec Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada in rowing Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games 21st-century Canadian sportswomen Sportswomen from Quebec Montreal Carabins