DES MOINES, Iowa — WHO 13’s Courtney Greene recently sat down with Des Moines Public School Superintendent, Dr. Ian Roberts. On Tuesday, we learned what it took for Roberts to excel both on the track as an Olympic athlete and in the classroom.

“And I was not that five or ten-year-old who was running along the track, who always knew that they wanted to be an Olympian. It’s just a blessing that came my way and I took advantage of it once the opportunity presented itself,” said Roberts.

Roberts graduated from high school in Brooklyn, NY and started running with a track and field club, realizing the sport would likely give him the best chance at a college scholarship.

“As a coach, if you give me an opportunity to be part of this team, I’m going to train harder than any athlete you ever coached in your life. Very bold statement. Very bold. But it’s a statement that came out of desperation. I needed a scholarship, but it also became an anchor for me, doing my entire undergraduate and essentially during my entire athletic career.”

He ran while in college at Coppin State, a historically Black college in Baltimore, Maryland where he received his undergraduate degree. He reached Division One status as a graduate student at St. John’s University in Queens, New York. His training schedule was relentless.

“I trained for two years, three times a day, six days a week, rain or shine, because I wanted to be the best in the world. When I first got to college, I just wanted to have my schooling paid for because I knew my mom couldn’t afford it.”

His hard work paid off when he ran the 800 meters at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, representing Guyana. Two habits established during that time have served him well, both on the track and in the classroom — visualization and hard work.

“I always spend probably 24-48 hours before any major race visualizing in my event, from the time the gun goes off to the end of the race. But the second is this idea that I wanted to be the athlete that trains harder than any other athlete … Today as a leader, as a superintendent of this district, as an educator, I visualize excellence. I tend to look toward the future to see what is possible will, can become, what we can achieve.”

He finished his academic career with two master’s degrees and a doctorate in educational leadership.

Traveling the world as a motivational speaker, Roberts is also a published author, penning six books that focus on leadership, empathy, and the power of second chances.

“Courtney, I believe that if those of us who are in positions of leadership give our teachers multiple chances to become the best selves, there is a trickle-down effect. Teachers are eventually going to give our students who deserve it multiple chances to become their best selves and optimize their learning potential.”

Roberts started his career teaching special education students, and says every student, regardless of ability, should be given as much support as possible. After the Iowa Legislature changed how Area Education Agency funding is allocated, he says collaboration is paramount.

“We have encountered a number of political decisions and legislative decisions that have had a negative impact on the work we’re doing in the district. I often say, Courtney, that there’s an African adage that I tend to embody, and it’s this idea of when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled upon. And that simply means, in translation, that when those individuals who are in positions of power and authority, when we are not, when we cannot get along because of our ideological or philosophical or political differences, the only individuals that get trampled upon, that we hurt, are our children and our teachers and our public servants. And so my approach has always been one of collaboration.”

Earlier this month, it was announced that Roberts was selected to be inducted into the 2025 Athletic Hall of Fame Class at his undergraduate alma mater, Coppin State University. On Thursday night, we’ll hear how Roberts has been welcomed to Des Moines and how long he sees himself here.

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