Allison Frederick/USRowing Susan Francia, right, and partner Erin Cafaro rowed together at the 2010 World Rowing Championships in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand.In the Pro's Questionnaire, our favorite sports figures take our abridged version of the famous personality test, the Proust Questionnaire. Susan Francia, 2008 Olympic gold medalist rower in the women's eight, is up. The University of Pennsylvania graduate tells us why she's a mama's girl, why she'll splurge on a vacation and why life is good.
Your main fault:
Susan Francia: I'm too pretty [laughs]. Next.
Your idea of happiness:
SF: Gosh, I thought these were supposed to be silly, now I'm getting internal. My idea of happiness is being satisfied with myself in all aspects of life. If I put everything into it, I cannot be unhappy.
Your idea of misery:
SF: Being stuck in a boat in very high humidity, very hot temperatures, doing some insane workout with no water.
If not yourself, who would you want to be?
SF: Beyonce. I would love to be able to sing. She's got a great voice.
Your favorite food/drink:
SF: My favorite food is anything my mother makes. My favorite drink is skim milk.
Hero/heroine you admire most:
SF: My mother. She just instilled persistence in me. Even though she wasn't great at sports -- she had two left feet, sorry Mom -- in all aspects of life she just strove to be the best and I really admire that.
What you hate most:
SF: Betrayal. Because on a team you have to work together and sometimes selfishness and betrayal can be a very tough thing to work through.
The natural talent you'd like to be gifted with:
SF: Ooh ... running. I wish I were a good runner. I'm a bad runner and I've tried -- I've gotten better over time -- but I just wish I could run well.
Your greatest fear:
SF: My greatest fear is that I didn't do enough.
Your greatest extravagance:
SF: I don't spend too much on clothes but I like to spend on vacations or travel or to see someone. Sometimes I just say, "You know what? I never get to see you, let's just go."
Your most treasured possession:
SF: My parents. I'm an only child so I don't know where I would be without them.
Your present state of mind:
SF: I'm doing good. I'm doing good things. I'm really happy. I'm looking forward to this upcoming year. I know it's going to be hard. It's going to be competitive. I'm going to hate life at some points. But that's what makes it worth it in the end and I am so looking forward to that.
