Anna Rozman had been looking for a way to represent the United States since she first arrived in the country more than 30 years ago.

So, when a job opened up last year for head physician of the U.S. Paralympics Powerlifting Team, Rozman jumped at the opportunity.

“It means a lot to me to have this opportunity with the team,” Rozman said. “In whatever capacity I can, I want to keep it going because it’s my way of paying back our country.”

The United States turned into Rozman’s country after she fled Russia with her family in 1993 to escape religious persecution.

“They came here with nothing,” Rozman said of her parents, both physicians. “They gave up everything, came here with one suitcase.”

Rozman was 7 years old at the time. Like the rest of her family, she spoke no English and had to adapt to a new country.

Her father had been working as a sports medicine physician in Russia before the family fled the country. He eventually returned to sports medicine in the U.S., and Rozman said he urged his children to live active lives.

“I grew up playing sports,” Rozman said. “My brother and I were both athletes our whole lives. I played everything.”

She stayed active into college, which was when she suffered a brain injury while snowboarding. She took time away from school to recover from the injury, with her father helping her rehab.

“I had to pretty much re-learn how to walk, how to coordinate my memory, everything,” she said. “It’s really a testament to working as hard as you can and trying to overcome whatever obstacles are thrown at you. I learned that from my parents.”

After making a full recovery, Rozman went on to finish college at Loyola University Chicago before going on to graduate school and medical school at Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. After completing her residency, she followed in her father’s footsteps as a sports medicine physician.

That eventually led to Rozman becoming the team doctor for the U.S. Para powerlifting team last year.

“I wish my dad was around to see (me be a part of Team USA),” she said. “He passed away last January suddenly. I know that he would be excited to see all of this, and he’d be the biggest cheerleader.”

In less than a year, Rozman has already traveled with the team to competitions in Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and Chile. She said being together with the team for those long trips has helped her create a quick bond with the athletes.

When she’s not traveling with the team, Rozman keeps in touch with the athletes remotely from her practice in New York.

“We’re all in a group chat. We are in contact pretty much every week,” she said. “I’m kind of just there in the background if they need me. I’m just there to help them navigate their concerns or their health issues.”

Rozman coordinates with sports psychology, nutrition and coaching staff members to prepare athletes for competitions. She will sit and brainstorm with athletes about cross-training, activating different muscle groups, breathing control, concentration and proper bench alignment, among other things. Those are just some of the many factors that goes into a powerlifter’s training, only for them to be judged entirely on three lifts in a competition.

“They make it look easy, but it’s definitely not easy,” Rozman said. “People don’t really understand how much it takes for them to do that 10-second lift — all the training and thousands of hours that go into that.”

Over the last year, Rozman has learned as much from the powerlifters as they have from her.

“They’ve been great teachers,” Rozman said. “Every single person that I’ve encountered, every single competition we’ve gone to, it’s a constant learning process.”

Before working with the Para powerlifting team, Rozman helped athletes in a plethora of sports, including football, basketball, soccer and mixed martial arts. She said things she’s picked up from the powerlifters will be applied to able-bodied athletes that she continues to work with.

“I think I’m just learning to be more of a team with my patients,” she said. “You have to, I guess, really take the time and just listen to people and be patient.”

At last year’s Parapan American Games, Rozman had another learning experience, as she got the chance to interact with athletes and physicians from other U.S. teams.

“It’s been a pretty cool experience,” she said. “I’m hoping to work more with other teams in the future, wherever they can use me. I would think there would be different intricacies. There are so many interesting and different mechanics involved with everything.”

The one thing that’s stood out Rozman during her time with the powerlifters is how much they bond with each other the few time of the year when they get together.

“They really are a family,” Rozman said. “It’s so interesting to watch them all be together. It really is just such a tight group. …

“There are so many different stories of who they are and where they come from, what they’ve been through, but they all relate to each other on the same level. It’s been a really positive experience, just watching them grow as a team in the last year.”

Bob Reinert spent 17 years covering sports for The Boston Globe. He also served as a sports information director at Saint Anselm College and Phillips Exeter Academy. He is a contributor to usparapowerlifting.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

New Team Doctor Anna Rozman Jumped At The Opportunity To Represent The Country That Brought Her In

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