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BRONXVILLE, N.Y.—Picture a world-class athlete. In all likelihood, the conjured image is one of a toned, muscular athlete: the pinnacle of fitness and the product of years of effective training. It's hard to imagine a successful athlete who is scrawny or bony. Yet, for Sarah Lawrence College graduate Myles Alexander '10, that emaciated past is all too real. Today, after years of struggling with anorexia, Alexander has rebuilt his body and is set to compete at the highest level triathlon in the world.

On Sunday, Alexander will compete in the Standard Distance Age Group World Championships as part of the 2013 PruHealth World Triathlon Grand Final in London. Still, his amazing rise to prominence in the sport almost didn't happen.

Attracted by the conference system and small class sizes, Alexander came to SLC as a transfer student. Though the Manhattan native fell in love with the campus, the deeper challenges of anorexia soon became a struggle. He spent hours a day in the weight room and in the pool, driven by the urge to lose weight.

"I was whittling myself away one pound at a time," recalls Alexander, "and I didn't have that many pounds to play with." At his lightest, he weighed less than 120 pounds and was forced to leave school for a few months.

Alexander continues, "[Former SLC Athletic Director] Mary LeVine gave me a wake-up call. She banned me from the gym and knew I needed to talk to someone. When I returned to campus [Aquatics Director] Sandy Clarke took me under her wing."

Clarke, who coached SLC's swimming program had been observing Alexander, aware of his struggles. "He swam religiously," she remembers, "He would do lap after lap. He'd spend hours in the weight room, but he accomplished nothing but burning calories."

Clarke knew that, with the proper coaching, she could redirect Alexander's competitive attitude.

"I decided to challenge Myles," Clarke reports, "I told him 'you think you're so fit, try to beat me.' I might be 5-foot-5, but I've run eight marathons, coached field hockey and lacrosse, and I rowed on the junior national team.'" Alexander accepted Clarke's challenge, but things did not go well for him.

"I was wrecking him," boasts Clarke. "Push-ups, running, laps in the pool. He couldn't believe that I could beat him in competitions." As his mentor, she explained the importance of sufficient nutrition in the training process. "I'm fueling my machine with rocket fuel; you're fueling it with nothing." The experience created an instant bond between the two.

Alexander's progress was slow, but steady. "I had to crawl before walking and walk before running. I was a numbers guy, and she taught me not to think about fitness as a number on a scale but to think of it as performance. I had to eat to perform. Slowly, my weight went up but my times went down."

Clarke's training program was one based on incentive, "I told him, 'I won't train you if you do not eat.' As his weight went up, the workouts would get longer."

Soon, Clarke realized Alexander's potential. "I remember two or three weeks into training, thinking that he could be a professional. He had the discipline to workout hours a day to starve himself... if he could turn that around, his strength would be an asset."

As a swimmer and runner, there was only one triathlon component left to conquer. "One day, she said 'can you ride a bike?,'" explains Alexander. "After that, she helped me tailor my training to triathlon."

Alexander considers himself a "short-distance" specialist. A standard (or Olympic) distance triathlon consists of a 1500 meter swim (just shy of 1 mile), a 40 km bike (25 mi.) and a 10 km run (6.2 miles). Alexander also competes in sprint triathlons, half the standard distance. Shorter distances favor stronger, quicker athletes, while the longer distances (such as Ironman triathlons) are focused on endurance.

In his international debut, Alexander made an immediate impression in the triathlon realm. At the 2013 International Triathlon Union (ITU) San Diego Sprint Triathlon, Alexander bested a field of over 550 competitors and crossed the finish line in first place. He finished the course in 1:01.50, nearly 25 seconds ahead of his closest adversary.

Motivated by competition, Alexander has found his experience to be more rewarding than originally expected. He has only recently come out as a survivor of anorexia, but he has already played a role in helping others deal with struggles of their own. "I was contacted by a young boy—about 16 years of age—who was a spectator at one of my races. He had lost 30 pounds in one year and was suffering badly. We had a back-and-forth, and I'm working with him to get help."

Alexander explains that the stereotypes of anorexia make the issue worse. "I felt alone. I'm a straight, masculine male, and I thought that it shouldn't be a problem for me. That perception is completely wrong! There are a lot of guys out there that no one talks about. I've always planned to do more about anorexia and let guys know that they aren't alone. Winning is rewarding, but [helping boys and men with anorexia] has been the most rewarding thing about my entire life."

This weekend, Alexander will square off against 145 other men from more than 30 countries to earn the ITU world title. In London, qualifiers from races around the world will gather and compete on the same course that was used in the 2012 Olympic Games. Alexander will take to the course just after 7 a.m. local time in the Men's 25-29 Age Group Championship.

Triathlon is one of the fastest-growing sports, drawing participants across all ages and demographics. To those interested in joining the sport, Alexander has two pieces of advice: "It can be expensive. Start off with what you have. There's no reason to invest if you find out you hate the sport. After that, take things slow and steady. Don't try to kill yourself; make sure you get through the race healthy and happy. Only then start building and thinking about getting faster.

Like Alexander, Clarke recommends a conservative approach to considering triathlon. "The best way to test the waters is with a sprint triathlon. There are also women's only events where triathletes are all shapes and sizes."

In Clarke's eyes, there's a potential athlete in everyone. "It's about 'How do you define athlete?' Athletes aren't meatheads or gym rats. A lot of students have potential to succeed if they get over the stereotype of what you think an athlete should be. Triathlons are about a sense of accomplishment—doing things you didn't think you could—the same feeling of accomplishment of an SLC student after conference week."

 "Myles' story is special," concludes Clarke. "But it also isn't. Every student and individual has potential. Are you willing to push yourself?"

You can learn more about Myles "chitriman" Alexander at his website: www.chitriman.com. He is also on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/chitriman) and Twitter (@chitriman).

UPDATE: Myles Alexander placed 23rd in the world with a time of 1:52.32. He was the fourth-best American and broke his personal best on the run stage by a 3-minute margin.