en Alex Rose (athlete)

Alex Rose
Personal information
Born	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
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing Samoa
Pacific Games
Oceania Championships
	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

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

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
2012	Oceania Championships	Cairns, Australia	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
2017	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
2022	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