He represented Sri Lanka at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany.

His personal best performance in the 10,000 metres, 29:18.0 minutes, still stands as the Sri Lankan national record since 1975.

Born in Kandy, Rosa started his athletic career at Roman Catholic School, Ampitiya.

[1][3] He was in Ceylon Olympic squad in 1968 but country sent only a three-man team, which did not include Lucian, to Mexico due to financial difficulties.

[4] Rosa is a University of Wisconsin–Parkside Hall of Famer, and a men's cross-country and track coach from 1977-2007.