In 2014, Oliver Alexandre was introduced to the sport of track & field after being approached by his head coach John Battle after one of his football games where he had shown impressive speed on the football field running down a quick footed running back from McArthur High School. At first he was reluctant to join the team but quickly changed his mind because he saw it as something new and a challenge. Having no knowledge of what the sport of track and field was about, he joined the team with low expectation for himself. “When I first joined the team, I just wanted to fit in with the rest of the guys because a few of my football teammates were members of the track team as well." He soon began to take a deeper interest in the sport when the team traveled to the University of South Florida to compete in the 5th Annual George Steinbrenner Invitational, where he almost upset the teams best 400m runner Jaquez Wilson running a time of 48.94.
He also was instrumental in leading the team to its first major victory of the 2013-2014 season. “After the George Steinbrenner Invitational, I decided to dedicate myself entirely to the sport of track and field. I finally saw the potential that everyone else saw in me." Shortly afterward he began to compete with a different mindset and put himself in position to be one of on the fastest 400m runners going into the FHSAA Class 2 State Track and Field Meet. “Last year was my first time going to a state track meet and I didn't know what to expect, but I knew I wanted to run fast because I trained really hard to get there.
Coming into the meet he was slated to place 4th, but Alexandre had different intentions. He was able to place second in the 400m surpassing Jaquez Wilson as the teams top 400m runner. “I was shocked that I was able to beat Jaquez because he was my training partner and I'd never beat him before, I remember the race like it was yesterday it was cold and rainy the entire weekend, my spikes were heavy from the rain. My body was stiff from the cold and I was sick from the weather change. However I knew I had trained really hard for that moment and I wasn't going let it pass me by without giving it my best. My coaches always tell us to take advantage of every opportunity you get on the track and let the chips fall where they may. So that's what I did, I blocked out all the elements I couldn't control and I focused on what I could control which was myself and my outcome."
Going into the 2014-2015 season, he decided to forfeit his Sr. football season and focus all of his energy into track and field. “I love playing football but my passion is track and field, I get excited about track, even practices, I just love to run". I am still learning new things about the sport everyday." He is not only a 400m runner; he can also throw the shot put and triple jump. “Whatever my coaches tell me to do I approach it with the mindset of being great at it" Oliver stated.
On February 22, 2015 Oliver opened his senior campaign running a blazing time of 47.55 and the Louie Bing Invitational, placing him currently as the #1 400m in the country. “I am happy with the time I ran but I am not satisfied until I reach my goal. Coach Battle told me, “If people are not laughing at your goals then your goals are to low." So I have set high standards and goals for myself and I am working hard to reach them. I am trying to earn a full Division 1 scholarship so my mother doesn't have to worry about me going to college. As a single mother, I know she can't afford it, so I am doing my best to take that burden off her plate."
You catch Oliver Alexandre in action at the Spartan Invitational on Saturday February 28, 2015 at Southridge High School in Miami Florida and at the Hallandale Invitational on Saturday March 7, 2015 at Hallandale High School.
