[2][3] Rose was born and raised in Tākaka, Golden Bay on a dairy farm.
[5] During her athletic career she was based in Christchurch, as well as, Paris during the NZ winter months.
[6][4] In 1993 she won the first of four ITU Triathlon World Cup events with a win in Embrun.
In 1994 she won the ITU World Cup series with wins in three events- Ixtapa, San Sebastian and Gerardmer.
[3] In 1995, she won the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championship in Nice.