PARIS (WOOD) — As he stepped into the ring for the discus final at the Paris Olympics, Alex Rose took in the momentous feeling.
“Even before my last throw, I’m walking into the ring like, ‘Man, this is just unreal,'” Rose told News 8’s Jack Doles. “I’m at the Olympic games, I can hear all these people. This is the loudest, best stadium that I’ve ever competed in. And I had the privilege to hear those voices when I’m winding up and throwing. It’s just an unreal feeling.”
He finished 12th in the final with a throw of 61.89 meters.
Rose is from Grand Rapids but competes for his father’s native Samoa. Paris marked his third Olympics.
“This year has been all about perseverance,” he said. “I’ve never been more beat up as I am now, at 32 years old, trying to still perform at a high level. But I’ve also never thrown as far as I have now. I’ve never qualified for an Olympic final, but I did this year. So it’s interesting. I found that I am much better at competing under pressure now, but I also might not have the gas that I used to.”
Regardless of his finish, he said he was “so incredibly proud to have competed in an Olympic final.”
Roje Stona took gold for Jamaica with a throw of 70 meters, a new Olympic record.
