3-Time Olympian Remembered By Fans And Celebrated By Loved Ones

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — This weekend, an Olympic hero was remembered, but a loved one was honored in a spirited gathering in his hometown.

New Rochelle native Adam Joseph Rosen was first introduced to luge while watching the 1994 Winter Olympics on television when he was just nine years old. He went on to become one of the best in the world.

Tribute provided by the friends and family of A.J. Rosen.

A joyous remembrance and celebration of A.J. Rosen's life was held on Saturday, April 23rd, at Pavilion 1 in the Glen Island Park in New Rochelle with a barbecue with AJ's favorite music playing at the event.

Approximately 80-100 friends and family showed up to commemorate the day. Among those who participated were some of AJ's Olympic friends who traveled from Canada, England, upstate New York and Connecticut. Everyone commented on how he was such a positive influence on them all. AJ's German girlfriend, Nina Reiter, of 5 years was also there, and A.J.'s mom, Gay Rosen, surprised her with an engagement ring in memory of A.J. It was a wonderful day and weekend with festivities lasting for 4 days.

A.J. passed away on December 19th at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital after a short illness at the young age of 37. A.J. had the gentlest of souls, was so truly kind, intelligent, and his sense of humor lifted the spirits of all who ever met him. He helped his family deliver meals on wheels to the homebound and elderly for seven years when he was younger.

Being dyslexic, A.J. realized he had to work twice as hard to reach every goal he set for himself and met every challenge with a never-ending inner strength. He initiated the "Power to Excel" monetary award to either a learning disabled or physically challenged student for seven years at the New Rochelle High School where he had attended.

A.J. would fly his simulator flight games endlessly and his bedroom looked more like a cockpit than a bedroom.

A.J. went to Space Camp in Alabama seven times, culminating in a scholarship for that last trip and achieved the "Top Gun" status that final week when he just 14. He was named a Sergeant of the Year also that same year when he was in the Civil Air Patrol.

Loving speed, A.J. took to the sport of luge at the age of 12 and was the U.S. Junior Luge Champion at the age of 14, for athletes 16 and under.

Having a British mother, Gay, A.J. became a dual citizen and competed on behalf of Great Britain in the sport of luge at three Olympics (Turin 2006, Whistler 2010 and PyeongChang 2018 in South Korea). After his third Olympics, A.J. then followed his true dream of becoming a Commercial Pilot, and attended the L3 -Harris Flight School in Sanford, Florida where he excelled. A.J. was training future pilots whilst simultaneously obtaining the 1500 required hours in order to work for an airline, when he became ill with COVID, and it was then discovered he had Stage 4 cancer on July 28th.

A.J. is survived by his parents, Gay and Sidney, 2 brothers, Mark, 40, and Brett, 29, his beloved fiancée, Nina Reiter, who he had met in Germany and who was his soul mate, Binky the family dog, his two cats, Ashley and Grace (one was a feral cat who he had wanted his family to watch for a few days ten plus years ago).

A.J. represented the incorporeal essence of a living being. His heart was that of a lion, brave, courageous, and anyone who ever met A.J. felt blessed. While he won many awards, A.J.'s greatest achievement was having wonderful friends representing many countries around the world. "The heavens will welcome A.J. and his inner light which will cast a brilliance onto our earth as he forever soars in the skies."