Sportsman depicted as Roman (7)
I believe the answer is:
oarsman
'sportsman' is the definition.
(I know that oarsman is a type of sportsman)
'depicted as roman' is the wordplay.
'depicted' indicates an anagram (letters presented or depicted in a new form).
'as'+'roman'='asroman'
'asroman' is an anagram of 'OARSMAN'.
(Other definitions for oarsman that I've seen before include "Member of rowing crew" , "Craft worker" , "It's bordered by Libya and France" , "A male small boat propeller" , "Male rower" .)