Former Camas High Standout Retires From Professional Track 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Alexa Efraimson announced her retirement from professional track and field on Wednesday on her Instagram account.

Efraimson, 25, rose to the top of high school running and became an Olympic prospect at Camas High in Washington and signed a professional deal with Nike before her senior year of high school. For the past two years she was running with the Pete Julian-led Union Athletics Club. Prior to that, she was coached by Mike Hickey, who guided her since high school. 

Efraimson broke the national high school record in the girls 1,600 meters as a Camas junior when she ran 4:33.29 at the Washington state meet. Prior to that, in December of 2013, she won one of the most celebrated high school races in history when she beat Sarah Baxter and Elise Cranny at Nike Cross Nationals. 

Efraimson turned pro in August of 2014, which prevented her from competing for her high school as a senior and also took her name off the table as a potential college recruit. 

In the Olympic Trials in 2016, still just 19, she finished sixth in the women's 1,500 meters final. 

She earned a bronze medal in the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.

Her statement on Wednesday read: 

After competing professionally for 8 years, I am ready and excited to move onto the next chapter of my life!!

Before this season, I wasn’t expecting it to be my last. I started the season with the same drive I always did, especially after a rough 2021 season. I was disciplined, excited, and training was going well! Racing was a little bit of a roller coaster, but I eventually came to a point in the season and realized: I’m not enjoying this. I had no fight or fire in races.

I was fortunate enough to run professionally for as long as I did and highly valued the growth I made as a person, on and off the track. Though running can teach you endlessly about yourself, it’s not adding to my life anymore.

With the help of those closest to me, I was able to make this decision- it was hard (and a little scary) in the sense that I was closing a chapter of my life that I had known for so long, but it also felt like the right time because I’m so incredibly excited for the next chapter.

Thank you to @unionathleticsclub , @pete.j.julian , @davidmchenry13 and @soniagrith for not only their coaching, but their mentoring and aiding the personal growth of their athletes off the track

Thank you to @nike for their unwavering support the last 8 years- @potusmoser and his team treated me so so well.

Thank you to @jordangusman__ for his love and support during one of the biggest transitions of my life so far - I am ecstatic for our future

And thank you to @efraimsonchantel and @dan.efraimson - you helped me verbalize how I was feeling, and though it was emotional, your guidance and advice was exactly what I needed

I am so grateful for my journey and the ability to do this for as long as I did. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way; it made it all the more valuable ✨