Lori

Lori (ローリー Roorii) is a supporting character in the second season of Free!. Along with her husband Russell, she is the home-stay parent of Rin Matsuoka while he is living and training in Sydney, Australia.

Appearance
Lori is a middle aged woman with olive green eyes and sandy blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail and face-framing bangs. She is seen wearing a black singlet top, a long red cardigan, three-quarter jeans and a simple gold necklace.

Personality
Lori is kind and hospitable, with a natural instinct for being a gracious host, doing her best to help Rin feel comfortable amidst strange surroundings as a youngster. When Haruka Nanase visits, she goes out of her way to make him also feel welcome and included, as seen when she prepares his favorite food. She can also be a little cheeky, as she winks at Haru during conversation relating how often Rin spoke about him during his time with them.

Relationships
She and her husband Russell appear to have a stable, happy marriage. She has motherly instincts towards Rin, treating him like her own family.

Story
Lori is one of Rin's host parents during the years he spends in Australia attending a school with an exceptional swimming club. She is quick to welcome him into her home, making it her mission to ensure Rin feels welcome in the foreign country by providing a warm and fun family atmosphere for the young boy, including getting a dog named Winnie (as a puppy). The realization that Rin is becoming depressed due to to his poor swimming performance is of great concern, and only serves to bolster her efforts to make Rin's stay a happy one.

She is extremely surprised, but overjoyed, when Rin returns out of the blue with Haruka in tow. She delights in having him back in her home, celebrating the boys' visit with a delicious dinner spread and recounting old times before later dropping them off at their hotel with the invitation to come back and visit at any time.

Trivia

 * Owns a black dog named Winnie (or Winny), which is a pun on the English word, "win."
 * Winnie, along with Lori & Russell's house, is directly based on a real dog and house that the series staff saw on their reference trip to Sydney for Free!-Eternal Summer-.
 * In the Japanese dub, all Lori's lines are in English and performed by a real Australian voice actor. Despite this, the English dub has her voiced by an American actor.

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