Rose Cossar (born July 4, 1991), also known as Rosie, is a Canadian

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordi ...

, who represented Canada at the

2011 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships The 2011 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships was held in Montpellier, France, from September 19–25, 2011 at the Arena Montpellier. Only the top 24 groups from the 2010 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were allowed to take part in the ...

, the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Background

Cossar was born in England and raised in Canada, She began her career in gymnastics in 1996, and competed internationally for the first time at the 2001 Happy Cup in Belgium.

Competitive career

Cossar was team leader of the rhythmic gymnastics team,Graham Lanktree
"Canada's rhythmic gymnast team heads to Olympics for first time"
'' Metro Ottawa'', June 29, 2012. which also included Katrina Cameron,

Kelsey Titmarsh Kelsey Titmarsh (born 27 December 1993) is a Canadian rhythmic gymnast, who competed in the group all-around at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She is a member of Trillium Rhythmics formally Kalev Rhythmic Gymnastics Club in Vaughan,Alexandra Landry,

Anastasiya Muntyanu Anastasiya Muntyanu ( ro, Anastasia Munteanu; born 13 October 1994) is a Canadian group rhythmic gymnast. She represented her nation at international competitions. She participated at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She also competed at wor ...

and

Anjelika Reznik Anjelika Reznik (born 25 June 1995) is a Canadian former group rhythmic gymnast and individual athlete. She represents her nation at international competitions. Reznik made history by qualifying Canada as the 1st group ever when she participated ...

. At the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in September 2011, the team placed 17th, and earned Canada's first-ever Olympic berth in the event. At the Pan American Games in October, the team won silver in the women's rhythmic group 3 ribbons + 2 hoops and the women's rhythmic group all-around, and bronze in the women's rhythmic group 5 balls. At the 2012 Olympics, the team placed 11th in the women's rhythmic group all-around.

Post-competition

In December 2014, Cossar publicly came out as

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

."Rosie Cossar, 2012 Olympic gymnast, on being gay and changing the sports world"
''

Outsports ''Outsports'' is a sports news website concerned with LGBT issues and personalities in amateur and professional sports. The company was founded in 1999 by Cyd Zeigler, Jr. and Jim Buzinski. ''The Outsports Revolution'' (Alyson Publications), by ...

'', December 1, 2014. She had already been out to her teammates for several years, but had not previously spoken to the media about her sexuality. Since the 2012 Olympics, she has worked with Toronto's

The 519 Church Street Community Centre The 519, formerly known as The 519 Church Street Community Centre, is an agency of the City of Toronto. A Canadian charitable, non-profit organization, it operates a community centre in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, ...

on the creation of

Pride House Toronto The 519, formerly known as The 519 Church Street Community Centre, is an agency of the Municipal government of Toronto, City of Toronto. A Canadian charitable, non-profit organization, it operates a community centre in the Church and Wellesley n ...

, a resource house for LGBT athletes being launched for the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

, and is a spokesperson for the Canadian Olympic Committee in its new program to combat

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

in sports."Canadian Olympic Committee unveils LGBT initiatives, partnership with You Can Play"
''

'', December 2, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cossar, Rose Canadian rhythmic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2011 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Canada Living people 1991 births Gymnastics people from Ontario Canadian LGBT sportspeople Lesbian sportswomen LGBT gymnasts Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century Canadian women 21st-century Canadian people 21st-century Canadian LGBT people