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Bio | Best
Moment | My
Postcard
| Alexander Ghanotakis |
1997 NCAA Discus All-American |
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© 2004, B. Grant |
| school/year |
Dartmouth/1997 |
| birth date |
December 3 |
| height |
6ft 5 |
| weight |
275lbs |
| hometown |
Arlington, MA |
| major |
English Literature |
| sport |
Athletics - Discus |
| training town |
Tucson, Arizona |
| coach |
John Frazier |
| personal best |
61.80M |
| ranking |
n/a |
| outstanding achievement |
2003 Greek National Champion |
| career goals |
Software/High Tech Sales Management |
With a simple "Hey, kid - come over here and try this," Alex Ghanotakis was on his way to what later would become a lifelong dream. His first attempt at throwing shot put landed across the gym, and by his sophomore year of high school he began throwing discus. He was a state champ in Massachusetts by his senior year, and continued throwing throughout his college career at Dartmouth.
As a college freshman, Alex placed fifth at the USA Junior Nationals; was Ivy League champion in the indoor 35-pound weight, Ivy League champ in the hammer (outdoor) and runner-up at the IC4A championships in discus during his junior year. As a senior, he was Ivy League champion in the hammer and discus, outstanding performer in the Heptagonal Championship, runner-up in the discus in IC4A and named All-American. He decided to continue this success, moving to California and rigorous training at Stanford University. But Corporate America won out.
Despite a goal of training for the Olympics, Alex was distracted. With school loans to pay, he took a software sales job with Oracle. Eventually, he found he was competing harder with his cube-mates for the next big sell than he was for his Olympic dream - so in 2000, he quit.
Alex dedicated himself to his job for almost two years, and in April 2002, he realized victories in the business world were not enough. He quit his job the next day, and chose to devote all of his time and talent toward one goal - competing for the Greek Olympic Team in 2004.
Proud to have dual citizenship in America and Greece due to his father's heritage, Alex is thrilled at the prospect of competing on the Greek team. "There's something very special about throwing discus for Greece, in Greece, in the Olympics." Already he is allied with a club in Athens, and will begin training with that group in April 2003.
DHAC funding is in place exactly for people like him, Alex explained. "This is the problem they are trying to eliminate - what happened to me, athletes losing sight of their athletic goals and getting distracted by career goals or material interests. As for me, I wake up every day and just laugh, because I'm so pleased with my decision to focus on my dream."
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© 2002, Chad Kew |
Recent Results
2003
5th Place - European Club Championships
1st Place - Greek National Championships
8th Place - Europa Cup
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Future Plans
2004
Greek National Champs
Europa Cup
Balkan Games
Olympic Games
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