Background
Laumann was born in Toronto Township, Ontario, now Mississauga.
Laumann was born in Toronto Township, Ontario, now Mississauga.
At the 1988 Olympics, Laumann finished seventh in the double scull. Laumann graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Arguably the most famous incident in Laumann"s life was during her training leading up to the 1992 Summer Olympics. One of the odds-on favourites to capture a gold medal, her shell was involved in a collision with the boat of German coxless pair team Colin von Ettinghausen and Peter Hoeltzenbein on May 15, 1992. Despite serious injuries to her leg (in her words, "I looked at the leg for a few seconds and knew it was serious when my muscle was hanging at my ankle and I could see the bone"), five operations and a total stay in the hospital of approximately three weeks, Laumann was back on the water training by late June.
Her efforts paid off with a bronze medal, and she was subsequently named Canadian of the Year by the Canadian Club in recognition and was selected to carry the Canadian Flag in the closing ceremonies of the Olympics.
Pseudoephedrine"s ban was lifted temporarily between 2004 and 2010 before being banned again. She formally announced her retirement three years later.
In 2004, she was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. She now lives in Victoria, British Columbia and works as a public speaker.