But his path to wealth in the United States has been complicated by a Chinese government straining to retain control of its elite athletes.
In his Q&A with Neil on Sunday evening at the party conference, Alexander refused to back Cable's language, but said he preferred to express it as the government "straining every sinew" to get the economy growing more.
It's an honourable objective, and in order to explain why England's state schools aren't as good as yours was, you conjure up the image of teachers, unions, local authorities and a Labour government straining to deprive poor children of a good education.
And state and federal governments strain to meet the expanding costs of public programs like Medicaid and Medicare.
Similar concerns loom in debt-ridden countries like Spain and Portugal, where the costs of high long-term unemployment have governments straining for a solution.
As startups, mega-corporations, and governments strain to promote women leaders in technology, new evidence suggests that the relative timidity of women may simply be a function of voting procedure.
With government-to-government ties strained, finicky trade disputes all but closed the Chinese markets to Mexican goods such as tequila and pork.
Logjams at airport security checkpoints loom as the federal government strains to keep screener jobs filled.
As China's government strains to handle new technology by enlisting its own counter-technology, it is almost comforting to linger for a moment on North Korea's retro approach to information management.
All the while, the federal government strains to enforce regulations that sometimes do more harm than good.
