By Caitlin Yoder and Winston Zapet Bamac
Alex Rhodes (‘27) spent his summer training for the U20 Championships, where he won bronze in the 400-meter dash at Nationals, and gold while representing Team USA for the 4×400 relay at the World Championship. The U20 Championships are a global event for athletes under 20 years old, organized by World Athletics, the international governing body for athletics that also organizes the Olympics. The event has been happening every other year since 1986, and in August, it was held in Lima, Peru.
Rhodes unexpectedly started track and field his senior year of high school after having played soccer since elementary. As a prospective college soccer player, he wanted to improve his cardio, especially since he was usually goaltending. “My mom actually signed me up, cause I was like ‘I don’t wanna do it.’ She signed me up, and then I went out for maybe two or three weeks of training while I was doing soccer, and I was having a decent amount of fun. I was kinda enjoying it more and more. And then at one point I was like ‘I’m just gonna do track for the rest of the season and hope things go well,’ and I haven’t really looked back from there,” Rhodes said.
Now, his second track season has already gone better than he could’ve ever imagined. After finishing second in the 400-meter at NCAA Indoor Championships in March, first in the 400 and 200 at the Northwest Conference Championships in April, and second again in the 400 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in May, Rhodes thought his season of hard work and achievement was over.
However, when he realized that the U20 Nationals were being held just an hour and a half away from his home in Portland, OR, he decided to extend his season. “I felt like I could go faster, and I felt like there was still more for me to do,” Rhodes said. He had achieved a personal record during his most recent race, and he wanted to see if he could keep improving: “I was like, ‘If, by some miracle, I get top 6, I’ll make Team USA.’”
Not only did Rhodes qualify with third place, but he also set a personal record of 45.93 seconds, far surpassing the original goal he’d set for himself: to break 47 seconds by the end of the season: “I feel like each month that goes by, what I see possible for myself is a whole new landscape, and every time I run, I surprise myself.”
The bronze medal at Nationals meant he was going to Peru for the U20 World Championships. “Stepping out onto the track was just a surreal feeling.” Rhodes described the pressure of an international event, “there’s 8000 people in the stands right now and they’re all watching you.” The 4×400 relay only took 3 minutes and 3.56 seconds, but by the end, Rhodes and his team had won an international gold medal.
Though most of his time in Peru was spent either at the track or the hotel, Rhodes’ experience there was one of a kind. His parents joined him, as well as his high school coach. There was lots of support and comradery coming from the other athletes as well. “Everyone was super friendly, everyone wanted to trade pins or just talk and connect. I think once you get to that level of tournament, the International tournament, everyone’s just happy to be there,” Rhodes said.
One of the highlights of the team-to-team comradery was gear trading, Rhodes says, “People really liked the USA gear, so I personally ended up getting a Swiss Olympic team jacket, and it’s probably my favorite thing in the world right now.”
Running international-level track demands rigorous training from all participants; Rhodes found motivation through his previous experience playing soccer. “I feel like doing that my entire life kind of helped translate to track, especially for such big moments, how I’m able to really stay calm and just trust myself and my abilities.” The arduous training required of him built his confidence, but the support he receives from his family helps fuel him to new feats. Rhodes’s older sister, a Division 1 athlete at Loyola University Chicago, is one of his biggest supporters and motivators: “If my sister is there, I know I’m gonna run a little bit faster.”
In the wake of his success, Rhodes is both excited and scared for his future. He wants to go pro after college. “My life has definitely changed very drastically in the last year. I wanted to play soccer for four years, just have a chill time at a small little D3 college.” Rhodes recognizes his own potential and wants to see it through, “ I want to do all the things that I can do. I want to go to the Olympics. I want to win the Olympics.I want to go out there and achieve what I want, to go as far as I possibly can. And if I don’t try, I think I’ll be disappointed.”