Alex Beck – Athletics – 2020
Bachelor of Exercise Science and Doctor of Physiotherapy
If the Olympic ideal is about perseverance and never giving up, Alex Beck is its poster boy.
“It’s a journey of thousands of training sessions, gym sessions, blood, sweat and tears,” the Bond University alumnus said after overcoming the devastation of missing selection for the 2012 and 2016 Games to finally book his ticket to Tokyo 2020.
“To get that phone call makes everything worth it … it’s all I ever wanted – to compete in the Olympic Games.”
Beck did just that in Tokyo, running a personal best of 45:54 seconds in the 400m to finish sixth in his heat. While it was not enough to see him progress to the semi-finals, he had proven he belonged at the world’s largest sporting event.
Beck’s sporting resume extends far beyond the Olympics. He is a three-time national athletics champion, reached the semi-finals of the 400m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and claimed gold at the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships.
Having graduated from Bond University with a Bachelor of Exercise Science in 2012, Beck returned to his alma mater to undertake a Doctor of Physiotherapy and went on to practise as a qualified physiotherapist.