FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Every day after work, Alonzo Russell trains for the Olympics at Joseph C. Carter Park. When he clocks out of his job as a service planner for Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), where he engineers and designs solutions for the community to receive power, he swaps his steel-toed boots for sprinting shoes – in pursuit of a gold medal.
The two-time Olympic sprinter begins his daily four-hour workout at the park’s track, crouched at the starting block, with his fingertips delicately grazing the line where the red track and white line meet. Every muscle in his body is coiled like a spring ready to propel him forward. He mentally prepares like he does before every 400-meter race in the Olympic Games.
“I just take a deep breath and walk through the race in my mind before it happens. So while I'm running the race, it's almost like I've already done it,” Russell explains. “As I'm in the blocks, I'm also just thinking about all the pain I'm about to endure.”
Russell’s journey to the Olympics began in his homeland, the Bahamas, in the town of Hunter just southwest of the islands' largest city, Freeport City.
His passion for running was sparked by his twin sister, Aloniqua, who was on a traveling track team. They would race each other in the backyard to pass the time, but it wasn’t until high school that Russell began training. He quickly became a standout track-and-field student-athlete, earning him scholarships to universities in the United States.
His first Olympics representing the Bahamas, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, was a rollercoaster of emotions marked by a bronze medal win in the 400-meter relay race after overcoming a disqualification from the 4x400 race.
“I got disqualified for stepping out of my lane, so I kind of was down about that, but the next race was coming up a few days later,” he recalls. “I regrouped and got ready for the relay, and we ended up winning the bronze. It was a dream come true.”
Upon returning home with a win, Russell began training for the next Olympic Games and enrolled in Florida State University (FSU). He decided to pursue a degree in electrical engineering— a subject he fell in love with in high school after studying electrical installation.
He graduated in 2021, just before the Tokyo Olympics where he was a semifinalist in the 400-meter race. Russell’s return home also marked the beginning of his professional career as an electrical engineer for FPL. His commitment to excellence is apparent both on the track and at work, where he is part of a team that works every single day to provide reliable electricity to customers.
For the past three years, as he resumed his Olympian training by night, by day, he helped plan large-scale developments and construction within his community, like the Broward Health Urgent Care and Baptist Health Hospital. Russell engineers and designs solutions to get customers power in a fast-growing state, and ensures these new facilities are equipped to receive electricity upon completion.
“It’s exciting to be a part of this team and big projects like hospitals,” he said. “You know it’s going to directly impact a lot of residents.”
Even with the responsibilities of his job and everyday life, Russell managed to excel in his track career. Last year, he hit his personal best time for a 400-meter run: 44.73 seconds.
“It was just kind of a surprise to me, knowing that I'm working a full-time job now and I'm still able to get personal records,” Russell said, crediting it all to time management and years as an athlete in college, where he learned how to divvy up schoolwork and training. “It's just exciting to see that I could still manage, even when I’m having more on my plate.”
As he prepares to check-in to the Olympic Village, Russell isn’t losing sight of his mission.
“I hope to stay healthy and that me and my teammates do well, advance through the rounds, and hopefully bring home a medal,” he said. “I just want to go out there and compete at the highest level.”
Tune into the 2024 Paris Olympics to watch Russell compete Friday, Aug. 2 in the mixed 4x400-meter relay.
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