7 minute read
Olympic Dreams
When it comes to Olympic fervor, Paris has nothing on Southern Connecticut State University and its admiration for gold medalist Alexis Holmes.
by John Rosengren
ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON, AUGUST 10, A SPIRITED CROWD GATHERED ON CAMPUS to watch the women’s 4x400-meter-relay final streaming live from the Paris Olympics. They were there to rally behind Alexis Holmes, a Hamden, Conn., native with strong ties to Southern. Although not a Southern graduate, she is part of the university family: the daughter of Dawn Stanton, ’90, M.S. ’97.
A former four-time All-American track star at the university, Stanton has dedicated more than 30 years to Southern, serving in various roles from residence life to student involvement. Since 2019, she’s been director of University Access Programs, overseeing initiatives designed to increase the academic success of students historically underrepresented in higher education. Holmes grew up on campus with many in the Southern community following her evolution into a world-class athlete. And, on that August day, their hearts were in Paris.
Some 3,550 miles away, Stanton was in the stands of the Stade de France, her 24-year-old daughter poised to run the anchor leg as the fourth and last runner on the team — the final 400 meters where the race is often won or lost.
The U.S. had dominated the event, winning it at the past seven Olympics. Still, Stanton felt the pressure upon her daughter. She’d been there the day before for the individual 400-meter final, when Holmes ran her fastest. It was a personal best of 49.77 seconds, which was good enough to place sixth. As they both waited for the starting gun, butterflies cartwheeled through Stanton’s stomach.
She hadn’t anticipated this moment when she and her then-husband, Craig Holmes, Alexis’ father, had signed up their daughter at age 4 for the New Haven Age Group Track Club. They’d just wanted their kids, Alexis and her older brother, CJ, to be active and have a social outlet, encouraging them to play a different sport each season.
Stanton, who grew up in the New Haven area, understands firsthand the life-changing power of youth sports. Before joining the New Haven Track Club herself around age 9, Stanton had raced kids on her block in spontaneous contests, say from this car to that signpost. She had won every time. “I realized at an early age I was fast, loved racing, and enjoyed beating the boys,” she says.
She started running the 100- and 200-meter at North Haven Middle School, then added the 400 and long jump to her repertoire at Amity High School. But at Southern, longtime track coach James Barber, ’64, M.S. ’79, molded her into a triple jumper.
Though Stanton set university records in the 100, 200, and long jump, the triple jump quickly became her favorite event — one she excelled at. She was an NCAA runner-up in the triple jump and earned All-American honors for the indoor and outdoor seasons her junior and senior years. In 2018, she was overjoyed to be inducted into the Owls Athletic Hall of Fame.
When Holmes found her own success as a young runner, she was aware of her mother’s legacy, having heard stories at Southern about Stanton’s triumphs. But it took Stanton a while to awaken to the extent of her young daughter’s talents. She saw Holmes was fast, of course, but figured she was just racing against other kids.
Holmes, in fact, got more attention for playing basketball at Cheshire Academy, attracting loads of scholarship offers. She initially dreamed of following Division I college hoops with a career in the WNBA — but felt something was missing. When Holmes decided to return to track her sophomore year of high school, she discovered her true passion.
Stanton had thought her daughter’s future was set, college paid for. Now they were starting over, it seemed. Cheshire didn’t even have a track team. But she and Holmes’ father were supportive, hiring a coach from the New Haven Age Group Track Club and taking their daughter to national competitions.
Any worries the parents had proved unfounded. As a high school senior, Holmes won the 400-meter dash at the New Balance National Track and Field Championship with a meet record time of 51.21 seconds. Performances like that earned her a scholarship to Penn State, where she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2019.
Fueled by her success, Holmes wanted to compete on a larger stage in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which would mean transferring to another university. “That was as hard for me as when she wanted to quit basketball,” says Stanton.
Again, her daughter was leaping into the unknown. But when SEC coaches visited their living room for 10 straight nights to recruit Holmes, Stanton had her epiphany: “That’s when I realized: Wow, she’s really good. Look at all this interest.”
Holmes chose the University of Kentucky, where she was part of the 400-meter relay team that set a collegiate record and won the NCAA title in 2022.
After college, she competed on the mixed 400-meter relay team (two men and two women) that set a world record time at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, and she won the 400-meter U.S. national indoor title in February 2024. From there, it was on to Paris.
In the 4x400 Olympic final, the U.S. opened an early lead which had stretched to nearly 75 meters by the time Holmes took the baton for the final leg. Still, Stanton’s feet were bouncing, her heart drumming. She recalls wanting to will her daughter across the finish line. And, so, for those 400 meters all she could do was scream: “Don’t stop! Oh my God, you’ve got this! All the way! All the way! All the way! Let’s go!” until Holmes eased across the line with a broad smile, knowing the gold medal was theirs, and Stanton’s tension gave way to joy.
Immediately after the race, Holmes searched the stands for her parents. She didn’t spot them until after the victory lap with her teammates. Separated by barricades, they at least made eye contact. “Just to see them in the stands was so rewarding,” Holmes says. “Sharing that moment with them made it so much more special.”
The following day Stanton was finally able to see her daughter up close in the Olympic Village. They hadn’t been together for almost eight months, and all those feelings of love and pride and relief and joy infused the moment. “I gave her the biggest hug, for maybe two minutes,” Stanton says. “I think I hugged her ten times during those two hours.”
Back in Connecticut, Holmes’ hometown community was enthralled as well. Holmes returned to Southern’s Lyman Center for the Performing Arts in late October to speak to an audience that included nearly 40 young athletes from the New Haven Age Group Track Club. (She’d leave New Haven to resume training in Arkansas, where she now lives, and prepare for the indoor world championships.)
But first there was a homecoming. “As a little girl, I grew up on Southern’s campus,” Holmes says. “Even at the Lyman Center. I have been running around this auditorium since I was a little kid watching fashion shows and guest speakers. Who would have thought that I would be a guest speaker here one day? It is just kind of amazing how things have come full circle. Then of course my mom is a track legend here, so it means a lot to come back.” ■
