Joshua Ross
Encyclopedia
Joshua Ross (born 9 February 1981 in Sydney
) is an Australia
n track and field
sprinter
. He spent his early childhood in south western Sydney and moved with his family to the Central Coast (New South Wales) at around age seven. He went to Woy Woy Public School and Henry Kendall High School. He's the third fastest Australian of all time, after Matt Shirvington
and Patrick Johnson
.
On the Central Coast, Ross attended Little Athletics and he won his first Australian title aged 10 - in the long jump
. But apart from the occasional school competition, he did not return to athletics until he was nineteen. During that time he played representative rugby league on the Central Coast.
Ross attracted immediate attention as a sprinter in 2003 when he comfortably won the Stawell Gift
off a mark of seven metres. In 2005, he again won the Stawell Gift – this time from the honoured scratch mark time, becoming only the second athlete to achieve this feat (and the first Australian). He also became the third person ever to win the event twice.
He reached the semi finals at the 2004 Summer Olympics
and 2005 World Championships
. He has won four consecutive Australian national 100 metre titles and became a vital and successful member of Australia's 4 x 100m relay team which placed 6th at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Additionally, he holds the fastest 100m time by an Australian on native soil, his personal best, 10.08 seconds. This record was set in Brisbane on 10 March 2007.
An Indigenous Australian, Ross was awarded the 2004 Deadlys Award for Male Sportsperson of the Year.
Ross won his fifth Australian national 100m title in March 2009.
Ross retired during the winter of 2009.
Recently, Josh ran his own pro day in Australia in hopes of getting noticed by professional football scouts. During his pro day, he measured in a 6'1" 194 lbs. He ran two 40 yard dashes, with various times between 4.1 and 4.2 seconds. He had one broad jump which resulted in a length of 10'4". He had two vertical jump results which were approximately 38" each time. Next, he ran his short shuttle and his 3 cone drill. Both were timed on a synthetic surface. He had a 3.87 short shuttle and a 6.59 3 cone time. However, all of these times are not official, but regardless have piqued the interest of professional football teams. He has a workout scheduled with pro football teams in Dallas, Texas.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
sprinter
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
. He spent his early childhood in south western Sydney and moved with his family to the Central Coast (New South Wales) at around age seven. He went to Woy Woy Public School and Henry Kendall High School. He's the third fastest Australian of all time, after Matt Shirvington
Matt Shirvington
Matt Shirvington is an Australian athlete and television presenter who held the Australian 100m national sprint title from 1998 to 2002...
and Patrick Johnson
Patrick Johnson (sprinter)
Patrick Johnson is an Australian athlete. He is the current Oceanian and Australian record holder in the 100 metres with a time of 9.93 seconds, achieved in Mito, Japan, on 5 May 2003. The time has made him the 17th fastest man in history at the time and 38th man to crack the 10-second barrier...
.
On the Central Coast, Ross attended Little Athletics and he won his first Australian title aged 10 - in the long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
. But apart from the occasional school competition, he did not return to athletics until he was nineteen. During that time he played representative rugby league on the Central Coast.
Ross attracted immediate attention as a sprinter in 2003 when he comfortably won the Stawell Gift
Stawell Gift
The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short distance running race. It is run over every Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, Stawell in the Grampian Mountains district of western Victoria.The race is run on grass...
off a mark of seven metres. In 2005, he again won the Stawell Gift – this time from the honoured scratch mark time, becoming only the second athlete to achieve this feat (and the first Australian). He also became the third person ever to win the event twice.
He reached the semi finals at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
and 2005 World Championships
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
. He has won four consecutive Australian national 100 metre titles and became a vital and successful member of Australia's 4 x 100m relay team which placed 6th at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Additionally, he holds the fastest 100m time by an Australian on native soil, his personal best, 10.08 seconds. This record was set in Brisbane on 10 March 2007.
An Indigenous Australian, Ross was awarded the 2004 Deadlys Award for Male Sportsperson of the Year.
Ross won his fifth Australian national 100m title in March 2009.
Ross retired during the winter of 2009.
Recently, Josh ran his own pro day in Australia in hopes of getting noticed by professional football scouts. During his pro day, he measured in a 6'1" 194 lbs. He ran two 40 yard dashes, with various times between 4.1 and 4.2 seconds. He had one broad jump which resulted in a length of 10'4". He had two vertical jump results which were approximately 38" each time. Next, he ran his short shuttle and his 3 cone drill. Both were timed on a synthetic surface. He had a 3.87 short shuttle and a 6.59 3 cone time. However, all of these times are not official, but regardless have piqued the interest of professional football teams. He has a workout scheduled with pro football teams in Dallas, Texas.