By Carter Sampson
Tempe Prep is not usually known for the great athletes it produces. The Socratic method and school uniforms tend not to attract elite athletes. But at least one of our alumni has broken the mold. Pau Tonnesen, who graduated in 2011, competed in the decathlon in the Rio Olympics. Tempe Prep has not only produced great scholars, but now has an Olympian among its graduates.
Pau has competed among the greatest athletes in the world, and he looks the part. Standing, it’s not hard to imagine him as an Olympic athlete. But how does a 1A track athlete become one of the best in the world?
Pau started his track and field career at Tempe Prep, also playing basketball and football. He won the 1a championship in pole vault, showing his potential. He says, “Tempe Prep taught me how to work through both academics and athletics. Life isn’t always easy, and you’re going to have to do things that are difficult. TPA prepared me for that.”
Tempe Prep helped Pau get started, but he really began to excel at Mesa Community College, where he earned the attention of University of Arizona coaches. At U of A, he became a dominant decathlete, and won the Pac 12 championship. He then went on to compete in the 2015 Athletics World Championship in Beijing, placing 18th out of the best in the world. Sometime during this journey, he developed some nasty dunking ability. Pau can dunk between the legs, 360, and from the free throw line!
Pau represented his mother’s home country of Spain in the 2016 Rio Olympics. As most of the Tempe Prep community watched, he earned 3rd place in the pole vault and 7th in discus against the best athletes in the world. He finished in 17th place, meaning he is the 17th best decathlete in the world!
Of his Olympic experience, Pau says, “It feels amazing to have competed in the decathlon in Rio… It was just amazing to see so many people from every corner of the earth, all the very best at what they do.”
Pau also is a great person. I know because he spent an hour at TPA after school signing autographs for a tiny crowd of middle schoolers (the crowd was big, it was the middle schoolers that were small) earlier this year. Whatever I do after leaving Tempe Prep, I hope that people will scramble to take pictures with me when I return. Thank you Pau for putting TPA on the map, and keep making us proud!
