Alexi Pappas

Alexi Pappas was born on March 28, 1990, in Berkeley, California, and grew up in Alameda, California. She demonstrated athletic talent early, placing fourth in the Division III girls 5K race at the California Interscholastic Federation State Cross Country Championships in 2005 as a sophomore at Bishop O’Dowd High School. She continued her athletic and academic pursuits at Dartmouth College, where she graduated magna cum laude in creative writing and English in 2012. During her time at Dartmouth, Pappas was a two-time NCAA All-American and won the Ivy League title in the steeplechase in 2012.

Pappas pursued a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at the University of Oregon, graduating in 2013. While at Oregon, she earned three NCAA Division I All-American awards and contributed to the Oregon Ducks women’s cross country team winning the national title by finishing eighth individually at the 2012 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Her athletic career continued to flourish as she became a Greek citizen on January 8, 2016, enabling her to represent Greece at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In Rio de Janeiro, she set a new Greek national record in the 10,000 meters, finishing 17th with a time of 31:36.16.

Beyond her athletic achievements, Pappas has made significant contributions to filmmaking and literature. She has directed, written, acted in, and produced several films, including “Tall as the Baobab Tree” (2012), “Speed Goggles” (2016), “Tracktown” (2017), and “Olympic Dreams” (2019), notably the first fictional film shot in an Olympic village. In 2021, she published her bestselling memoir, “Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas.” Pappas has also advocated for athlete mental health, sharing her struggles with depression. In 2022, she served as a guide for para-athlete Lisa Thompson at the Boston Marathon, where Thompson won the T13 Division.