#psualex

KURT: so this is a dare..

ALEXANDER WASHINGTON

☆ FULL NAME: Alexander Barcelona Washington ☆ GENDER: Cisman ☆ PRONOUNS: He/Him ☆ AGE: 31 (July 20th, 1993) ☆ TYPE: Adopted sibling; solo ☆ HOMETOWN: Miami, Florida ☆ JOB: Professional Tennis Player; interim PSU Guest Lecturer in the Sports department ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Bisexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Ncuti Gatwa

ABOUT ALEXANDER

Alex was promised from birth that swimming would come naturally to him. Yet in spite of his best efforts, he hated it. He never got passed basic swimming lessons and even developed a fear of water after his mother tossed him into the pool one too many times growing up. It didn’t help that they had a big swimming pool at home and his mother liked to use the element of surprise when doing a dunking under the guise of “character building”. This difference of opinion towards his mother’s passion put a strain on their relationship.

Despite his hatred towards swimming, Alex tried a lot of other sports growing up to gain his mothers approval. As the first child in the family there was a lot of expectation on him to succeed, to carry on his mother’s legacy. With swimming clearly not an option he found other ways to progress. Soccer and track to name a few. He not only enjoyed these sports but often excelled in them. This, however, was of no interest to his mother who was adamant that swimming was the ultimate sport, and no other discipline was quite as demanding.

Alex continued to push himself, seeking his mother’s approval in every discipline. He excelled in academics, being a straight A student, became class president and learned to play the piano. Every A or trophy he brought home and presented to his mother was ignored and achievement lessened as she would relate the experience to her swimming days. Any mistake or second place result his mother would turn into a teaching moment and refer to a page from her motivational courses. It didn’t help that his mother’s nickname for her children related to the medal they were adopted in memory of, so Alex was often referred to as either Bronze or Barcelona and he was often reminded that bronze wasn’t best.

It wasn’t until he found tennis that he finally felt he found a skill he excelled in and enjoyed that brought a positive community and competitiveness that he hadn’t found anywhere else. Since finding this passion it’s all he followed. He found something he was good at that he could lose himself in and excel in. It gave him a drive, pushed him to his limits and tested his physical and mental strength. He continued from strength to strength through the ranks of he tennis world to become a professional singles player. While he doesn’t mind taking part in doubles events, singles is what he truly loves. The tension of just him and his competitor on the court. With only one ball, his mindset, skill and wits to get him through. Those accomplishments mean the most to him. He found a place he found love. Love of the sport, himself but also the love of others for his athleticism. He found he didn’t need his mother’s approval in the same way because he knows throughout the sweat and determination he puts in how much he has earned those wins. His coach became like a parent to him during his early days when his mother feigned disinterest.

Tennis also gave Alex his own identity. Always being Roz’s son was always as a reminder of his mother’s accomplishments, which brought a lot of expectations from those he met and now he was carving his own identity in the world. However upon finding tennis his mother constantly refused to acknowledge it as a proper sport, always downplaying Alex’s achievements to the medals she achieved and displaying her distain for the sport. That drive for his mother’s approval pushed him to grand slam finals and eventually gaining his first win at Wimbledon.

Lifting that trophy into the air and climbing the stadium to his family seats he looked his mother in the eye after his victory only to receive a nod in response. Wasn’t this win enough?

So he pushed himself further and a year later it was at Roland Garros at the French open. Again as he lifted the trophy he looked beyond the cameras but his mother was not in the stands clearly leaving before the end. So he aimed for the greatest american tennis prize, the US Open. In that same season he pushed himself further and got to the US final. It was a really close match and Alex focused on this win being the one that would finally be the one. The one his mother would turn round and acknowledge his achievement. Acknowledge that he could do it. That she approved of him and his choices. That he wasn’t a disappointment and had done something with is life. That she loved him. It was a gruelling and incredibly close match and Alex pushed everything to match point, but that’s when he took a nasty fall and broke his wrist. Not only was he forced to withdraw from the final but his season was over. With extensive recovery ahead. His last memory of that moment was watching his mother slip away while he was rushed to the hospital.

Now Alex is in a state of recovery. He hopes to one day get back onto the court professionally. He believes if he can take home a US trophy or maybe even an Olympic gold that might be the key to his mothers heart. Alex is taking time for recovery by moving to LA, taking time to chill by the beach and get healthy. He’s also using his time as a guest lecturer at PSU the college that supported him alongside his career and is supporting their sports programme. He’s setting up a tennis academy to help the sport reach more communities especially children who don’t get the same opportunities to try tennis.

Alex can be a bit too career focused at times. His goal to approve his mother being a driving force in his life. This can cause him to have blinders on when it comes to other people, but he is putting himself out there. Alex has gained a reputation as being the eccentric one the tennis circuit. He loves to try new things and relax by playing board games, the piano. Outside of tennis he’s hoping to take this time to find someone special in his life.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Roz Washington wants only one thing in life, greatness. As her father taught her “If at first you don’t succeed, pack your bags.” It’s the mantra that has motivated her throughout her life. When she fell into swimming at an early age she found a talent that she would harness and win. Since winning her first medal in the junior events it’s a feeling she chases in every aspect of her life. Although she began her career in lane swimming she soon found her competitiveness and need for her father’s approval turned sour in the pool and she took her anger out on her competitors. An event she would rather soon forget especially when she tried to drown poor Beatrice Singh from France at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Cue her redemption ark in the four years leading up to Barcelona 1992 where she found her true calling in Individual synchronised swimming, winning a bronze medal. She always revels in the glory days of her competitive career and comeback that she has found unique ways to commemorate her achievements. The primary one being a child for every medal she has won. She has a number of adoptive children because who can lose valuable time training for gold. She can often be seen adorning one of her medals with every outfit she wears and don’t ask her to share experiences of the Olympics or you might just hear about the time she had a threesome with Michael Phelps.