Alex Rose (athlete)

Samoan and American athletics competitor

Alex Rose

Personal information
Born|  (1991-11-17) 17 November 1991 (age 33)
West Branch, Michigan, United States
Education| Central Michigan University
Height| 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight| 280 lb (127 kg)
Sport
Country|  Samoa
Sport| Track and field
Event(s)| Discus throw, shot put, hammer throw
College team| Central Michigan Chippewas[1]

Medal record

Men's Athletics
Representing  Samoa
Pacific Games
| 2015 Port Moresby | Discus
| 2015 Port Moresby | Shot Put
| 2015 Port Moresby | Hammer
Oceania Championships
| 2012 Cairns | Discus
| 2012 Cairns | Hammer
| 2013 Papeete | Shot Put
| 2013 Papeete | Discus
| 2013 Papeete | Hammer
| 2015 Cairns | Shot Put
| 2015 Cairns | Discus
| 2015 Cairns | Hammer
| 2017 Suva | Discus

Updated on 20 April 2024

Alexander Melei Rose (born 17 November 1991) is a Samoan and American athlete, competing primarily in the discus throw and occasionally in the shot put and the hammer throw.[2] He represented Samoa at the 2016 Olympics,[3] and 2020 Summer Olympics,[4] as well as the Commonwealth Games and Pacific Games.

## Life

[edit]

Although born in the United States, Rose holds dual citizenship with Samoa, since his father was born there and emigrated to the US as a 19-year-old.[5] He threw for Central Michigan University.[1]

He represented Samoa in the 2013 World Championships in Athletics[6] and the 2015 World Championships in Athletics,[7] failing to qualify for the final on both occasions. He's had great success at the Oceania Athletics Championships, with eight gold medals and a silver in three different throwing events—Discus, Shot Put & Hammer Throw—over four different games from 2021 to 2017.

At the 2022 World Athletics Championships he made the final, coming 8th in the world.[8] Rose competed for Samoa at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where he finished 4th with a best throw of 64.56 m, just 2 cm off third place.[9][10]

His personal best in the discus was 66.91 metres (Claremont, California, 19 July 2019), until he improved his national record to 67.4 8m at the University of Arizona on 22 May 2021, and then, in 2023, Rose threw 70.39 m at the Oklahoma Throws Series on 16 April 2023, setting a new Oceania Area Record.

At the 2024 Olympics he became the first Pacific islander to make it to an Olympic track and field final.[11]

## Competition record

[edit]

Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Representing the  United States
2010  | World Junior Championships | Moncton, Canada | 22nd (q)  | Discus throw (1.75 kg)  | 53.46 m
Representing  Samoa
2012  | Oceania Championships | Cairns, Australia | 1st  | Discus throw  | 56.29 m
1st  | Hammer throw  | 51.10 m
2013  | Oceania Championships | Papeete, French Polynesia | 1st  | Shot put  | 17.22 m
1st  | Discus throw  | 56.05 m
1st  | Hammer throw  | 55.49 m
Universiade | Kazan, Russia | 7th  | Discus throw  | 58.64 m
World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 29th (q)  | Discus throw  | 56.19 m
2015  | Oceania Championships | Cairns, Australia | 1st  | Shot put  | 16.89 m
1st  | Discus throw  | 60.95 m
2nd  | Hammer throw  | 53.29 m
Pacific Games | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea  | 2nd  | Shot put  | 16.58 m
1st  | Discus throw  | 56.40 m
2nd  | Hammer throw  | 58.66 m
World Championships | Beijing, China | 25th (q)  | Discus throw  | 59.07 m
2016  | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 29th (q)  | Discus throw  | 57.24 m
2017  | Oceania Championships | Suva, Fiji | 1st  | Discus throw  | 61.12m CR
World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 19th (q)  | Discus throw  | 61.62 m
2018  | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 8th  | Discus throw  | 59.56 m
2019  | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 21st (q)  | Discus throw  | 61.80 m
2021  | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 18th (q)  | Discus throw  | 61.72 m
2022  | World Championships | Eugene, United States | 8th  | Discus throw  | 65.57 m
Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, England | 4th  | Discus throw  | 64.56 m
2023  | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 12th  | Discus throw  | 61.69 m
2024  | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 12th  | Discus throw  | 61.89 m

## Personal bests

[edit]

Outdoor

* Shot put – 17.22 (Papeete 2013)
* Discus throw – 70.39 (Tulsa, Oklahoma 2023) NR, AR
* Hammer throw – 58.66 (Port Moresby 2015) NR

Indoor

* Shot put – 17.75 (Bowling Green 2011)
* Weight throw – 19.73 (Chicago 2016) NR

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Alex Rose Bio :: Central Michigan Men's Track :: CMUChippewas.COM :: The Official Site of Central Michigan Athletics". cmuchippewas.com. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
2. ^ Alex Rose at World Athletics
3. ^ "IAAF: Discus Throw Summary – The XXXI Olympic Games – iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
4. ^ "Athletics ROSE Alex". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
5. ^ Patti Brehler (25 August 2015). "A local champion has Olympic dreams". Omegaw Voice. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
6. ^ "Discus Throw Men – Qualification" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
7. ^ "Discus Throw Men – Qualification" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
8. ^ Gutu Faasau (22 July 2022). "Samoan discuss thrower makes history in Oregon". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
9. ^ Gutu Faasau (13 July 2022). "SASNOC announces Team Samoa for Commonwealth Games". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
10. ^ "Team Samoa for Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham Announced". Samoa Global News. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
11. ^ "Samoa's discus thrower first Pacific Islander to make an Olympic track and field final". RNZ. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

* https://athletics.aurora.edu/news/2016/5/18/general-2016-summer-olympics-up-next-for-aus-rose.aspx?path=general

## External links

[edit]

* Alex Rose at World Athletics
* Alex Rose at TFRRS.org
* Alex Rose at Olympedia

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* World Athletics

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