Alexander Melei Rose (born 17 November 1991) is a Samoan and American athlete, competing primarily in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

and occasionally in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and the

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

. He represented Samoa at the

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, and

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, as well as the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

and

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continent, continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 South Pacific Games, 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently i ...

Life

Although born in the United States, Rose holds

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

with Samoa, since his father was born there and emigrated to the US as a 19-year-old. He threw for

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

. He represented Samoa in the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013; ) was an international athletics (sport), athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10 to 18 August 2013. Initially, Russia at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Russia ...

and the

2015 World Championships in Athletics The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...

, failing to qualify for the final on both occasions. He's had great success at the

Oceania Athletics Championships The Oceania Athletics Championships is an sport of athletics, athletics event organized by the Oceania Athletics Association (OAA) for the World Athletics (WA; formerly the IAAF) member associations of the Oceania, Oceania region. The event has b ...

, 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 The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...

he made the final, coming 8th in the world. Rose competed for

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

where he finished 4th with a best throw of 64.56 m, just 2 cm off third place. His personal best in the discus was 66.91 metres (

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

, 19 July 2019), until he improved his national record to 67.4 8m at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

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.

Competition record

Personal bests

Outdoor *Shot put – 17.22 (Papeete 2013) *Discus throw – 71.48 (Allendale, Michigan 2024) NR, AR *Hammer throw – 58.66 (Port Moresby 2015) NR Indoor *Shot put – 17.75 (Bowling Green 2011) *

Weight throw Weight throw (or Weight for distance) is a traditional strength sport and throwing event derived from ancient Scottish Highland games. Unlike its other counterpart, the Weight over bar which involves a stationary pendulum like swing for height, ...

– 19.73 (Chicago 2016) NR

References

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

External links

* Samoan male shot putters American male shot putters Samoan male discus throwers American male discus throwers 1991 births Living people People from West Branch, Michigan American sportspeople of Samoan descent World Athletics Championships athletes for Samoa Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Olympic athletes for Samoa Central Michigan Chippewas men's track and field athletes Commonwealth Games competitors for Samoa Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes from Michigan Pacific Games gold medalists for Samoa Pacific Games medalists in athletics Pacific Games silver medalists for Samoa Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics {{US-athletics-bio-stub