Alex Rose. Photo supplied. Photo: Photo supplied
Samoa's Alex Rose says he's confident he will be the fist Samoan male athlete to win an Olympic medal.
Rose claimed the bronze medal for the men's discus event at the World Athletics Championship held last month in Tokyo.
It was the first time a Pacific Island male athlete had won a medal at an athletics championship.
Rose told Pacific Waves he planned to bring his medal on his next visit to Samoa. Rose was born and raised in the United States. He traces his Samoan roots through his father's family, who hail from the villages of Tafatafa Beach and Vaovai Falealili.
The 33-year-old now lives in Michigan with his young family.
Rose said he was inspired to represent Samoa when he saw Margaret Satupai compete at the Junior World Championships. At the time, Rose was representing the US as a member of its under-20 team.
Rose said Samoan culture was "very powerful and it's full of pride".
Securing the country's first World Athletics Championship medal had been a dream, he said.
"Someone shared the Wikipedia page for me the other day and I was like: 'What? That's me - that's crazy.'
"I think I'm still in shock."
Rose also said he was preparing for the next series of athletic events, and added that his training schedule had to fit around his family as well as his job as a salesperson.
"You know it would be nice if [athletics] could be full-time, but truthfully, I'm having success while I'm... balancing a full-time job and training and being a dad."
"If it happens that there's a...bunch of sponsors that want to help out and endorse me [than] great.
"But if not, I'm confident that I can still shoot to now become the first Olympic medallist as a male athlete for Samoa, as well as a medallist for the World Champs."
