A list of credentials that include film maker, author, athlete, and Olympian wouldn’t bring a 30-year-old to mind. But those are just a few of the accomplishments Alexi Pappas has achieved over the course of her career. To say she is a busy young woman would be an understatement. By day, she is a long-distance runner and ultimate athlete. When not training she is engaging in the artistic outlets of acting, screenwriting, and directing in film and television. The ultimate goal of her hard work? To give the gift of confidence. Pappas has said that confidence and self-worth are one of the toughest things you can give to yourself. So, what motivates her is to give it others.
Her athletic career started in high school in California where she was a CIF award-winning distance runner. She wanted to be on the cross-country team and the soccer team, but they wouldn’t allow female athletes to participate in more than one sport, even though male athletes could. After high school, Pappas would move on to Dartmouth and was a two-time All-American and a finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
At Dartmouth she graduated magna cum laude in 2012 in creative writing and went on to get her master’s degree at University of Oregon in 2013. After graduation, the 2016 Olympics were approaching. She became a Greek citizen early that year in order to represent Greece at the Summer Games. She was training for the 2020 games in Tokyo prior to their postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wanting to focus on the mental health and coming-of-age of athletes, Pappas and her now husband Jeremy Teicher have been involved in the 2016 film Tracktown which premiered at the LA Film Festival. A second film, Olympic Dreams, was released in 2020 focusing on the life of a cross country skier after her competition ends. From screen to paper, Pappa’s latest project is her 2021 release of her first book, Bravery: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain and Other Big Ideas.
On and off the track, perhaps her biggest achievement is inspiring others to chase their dreams, regardless of previous hardships. Pappas herself is a shining example of how perseverance and hard work can lead to a lifetime of fulfillment and success.