"Juggling training, writing and filming for a new TV show is nothing new for Pappas, who at the age of 30 has already accumulated a showreel of accomplishments on and off the running track.
The 27-year-old distance runner raced for Greece in the 2016 Rio Olympics… "Most of all, you're trying to give someone the gift of confidence, right?" "You sharpen yourself to a point for the race, called peaking, and it's something you time very carefully with the coach. "That cliff doesn't feel like it will be a cliff for me -- I'm not so afraid of it because I know there's this career I'm growing at the same time. Chat with us in Facebook Messenger.
Nine days after Tokyo 2020 was officially postponed, I caught up with Olympian, writer, and Olympic Dreams filmmaker Alexi Pappas from afar. "The Olympic distance runner who writes and stars in her own filmsThe Olympic distance runner who writes and stars in her own filmsRussian footballer hit by lightning is back in trainingTime Out: Cesc Fabregas on his career and racism in footballBlack footballers too 'scared' to look at social media due to racist abuse, says ZahaSkydiving onto a 4,500-foot mountain ... then wingsuiting off itNoah Lyles breaks 200m world record -- but then it transpires he only ran 185mMeet 'Spot' and 'Pepper' — baseball's new robot fansWorld champion snowboarder dies at 32 in spearfishing accidentHow Lewis Hamilton is carving his legacy off the F1 trackHow a Black cricketer found out he was being called a racial slur by watching NetflixWith one year to go until Tokyo 2020, doubts still lingerWith one year to go until Tokyo 2020, doubts still lingerGetting approved for 1 of these cards means you have excellent creditThe fastest way to pay off $10,000 in credit card debtSwitch cards and save money on interest - Start now! "I latched onto athletes, I latched onto anything to imitate and I really absorbed and ran with anything I saw that I liked, or what I didn't like I would steer away from. She has gradually developed into a role model for young athletes. "Alexi Pappas and Gus Kenworthy dispay their Olympic ring tattoos during the premiere of "Olympic Dreams" at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.Having competed on the track for most of her career, she says switching to marathon running -- an event inspired by Pheidippides, who is credited with running 26.2 miles to deliver news of the ancient Greeks' victory over the Persians -- was always in her blood. Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. "Trying something in a television world is almost like moving from the track to the marathon -- it's like the same sport but a different event," Pappas tells CNN Sport. Interview With Alexi Pappas on 2020 Olympics Postponement Why Olympian Alexi Pappas Still Sees the Future as "Inevitably Bright" — and How You Can, Too.
"She adds, too, that creative pursuits have always "sheltered me a little bit from overtraining. Alexi Pappas or Alexia Pappa (Greek Αλεξία Παππά; born 28 March 1990) is a Greek-American long distance athlete, filmmaker, actor, and writer. Alongside her partner Jeremy Teicher, she co-wrote and co-directed "Tracktown" in 2017, an indie sports drama depicting a talented runner, played by Pappas, who prepares for Olympics trials.That premiered the year after Pappas had competed at the Olympics herself, setting a Greek national record of 31:36 in the 10,000m in Rio in 2016. "It feels like a different sport to track running, it feels like a completely different system, a different mentality. "With racing on pause, Pappas can enjoy the benefits of having what she calls a "spectrum of life going on." "When people give the advice of 'do one thing right now,' what they're really saying is give a 100% to this goal that's perfectly worthy and I buy into that, I think that's true," she says. Her desire and willingness to be a role model can be partly explained by her mother's suicide when she was four years old. "Being Greek, it's also one of those traditions that's deeply rooted in my background and I think everyone runs a marathon out of curiosity for what their mind or bodies might be able to do. With these races around the world still an uncertainty, my goal now is to stay fit and healthy without over-sharpening myself now before I know exactly when I'll be able to race.