Josh Ross

Early life

Joshua Ross was born 9 February 1981 in Sydney, Australia. 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 is 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 at age 10 in the long jump. Apart from the occasional school competition, however, he did not return to athletics until he was nineteen. During that time he played representative rugby league on the Central Coast.

Career

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 (behind Madagascar's Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa in 1975) 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. He also has a personal best in the 200m of 20.52.

An Indigenous Australian, Ross was awarded the 2004 Deadly Award for Male Sportsperson of the Year.

Ross won his fifth Australian national 100 m title in March 2009.

Ross retired in 2009.

Ross returned to athletics and won his sixth national 100 m title in 2012 with a time of 10.23. Ross also threatened to walk out of the Australian 4x 100m Olympic relay team if he was not allowed to compete in the individual men's 100 metres at the Olympic Games. Ross's most successful year has been 2007 when he ran his personal best of 10.08 then 10.10 then 10.12 and then 10.13. He was a member of the Australian 4 x 100 m relay team that equalled the Australian record when they qualified for the finals at the 2012 London Olympics. Ross and John Steffensen held a press conference in the week before the games began, criticising their selection in only the relay event and not the individual races.

Ross gained the sprint double at the 2013 Victorian Championships when he won the men's open 100 metres and 200 metres finals at Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park. In 2013 Ross won his seventh national title in a time of 10.34 equalling the record of the great Hec Hogan.

He is recognized in the Australian Olympic Committee list of Australian Indigenous Olympians.