Ronnie Ash

Ronnie Ash (born July 2, 1988)[2] is an American track and field athlete specializing in hurdles. With his 12.99 (+1.2) 110 metres hurdles on June 29, 2014 in a semi-final round of the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, California, he moved into the prestigious sub 13 club and is currently the 17th fastest hurdler in history.[3]

Ronnie Ash
Personal information
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1988-07-02) July 2, 1988
Passaic, New Jersey
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1]
Weight207 lb (94 kg)
Sport
SportRunning
Event(s)110 metres hurdles
College teamBethune-Cookman Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
NACAC U-23 Championships
Gold medal – first place2010 Miramar110 meters hurdles
Bronze medal – third place2008 Toluca110 meters hurdles
Continental Cup
Silver medal – second place2014 Marrakech110 metres hurdles

Ash did not finish in the final.[4] Later in the season, Ash was silver medalist at the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup,[5] selected to the team because his time held up as the #2 time from the countries that make up the Americas team for the season.[6]

He reached the 2016 Olympic final and was in contention for a medal before stumbling over the final hurdle and falling. He was ultimately disqualified for an illegal hurdle clearance under then IAAF rule 168.7b.

Career

Born and raised in Passaic, New Jersey,[7] Ash began hurdling at Knightdale High School in Knightdale, North Carolina after transferring to the school for his senior year. With virtually no athletic experience, he was recruited by the basketball coach and track coach David Castell. He joined the track team because "I thought I could meet new people, and I guess it ended up working out."[8] He set school records in the 110 metres hurdles, 300 meters hurdles and the high jump. Graduating in 2008, he had the opportunity to run in the 2008 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics, where he captured a bronze medal behind future world champions Jason Richardson and Ryan Brathwaite.

Ash did not have high expectations coming out of high school, not planning on attending college, but he received an offer at Bethune-Cookman University. At Bethune-Cookman, he won both the 2009 NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship and the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship as a sophomore, outdoors over Richardson.[9]

The following season he switched to the University of Oklahoma, defending his indoor championship[10] and finishing third outdoors.[11][12] A couple of weeks later, he finished third at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Later that summer he returned to the 2010 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics, this time taking gold ahead of then defending world champion Brathwaite and running sub-13 for the first time, with a 12.98. The wind was +3.1 mps, well over the legal limit, so the time couldn't count for record purposes, but foretold of his capability.

References
  1. "Rio 2016 bio". Archived from the original on 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  2. "Profile of Ronnie ASH - All-Athletics.com". All-athletics.com. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  3. "110 Metres Hurdles - men - senior - outdoor - iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  4. "USA Track & Field - Complete Results". Usatf.org. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  5. "110 Metres Hurdles Result - IAAF Continental Cup 2014 - iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  6. "110 Metres Hurdles - men - senior - outdoor - 2014 - iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  7. Ronnie Ash, United States Olympic Committee. Accessed August 10, 2016. "Birthplace: Passaic, N.J.; Hometown: Passaic, N.J."
  8. "Local & North Carolina state news from Raleigh, NC - NewsObserver.com". Newsobserver.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  9. "NCAA Division I Championship Results -- Flash Results, Inc". Flashresults.com. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  10. "NCAA Division I Championships -- Flash Results, Inc". Flashresults.com. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  11. "NCAA Outdoor Championships -- Flash Results, Inc". Flashresults.com. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  12. "Player Bio: Ronnie Ash - SoonerSports.com - Official Athletics Site of the Oklahoma Sooners - Oklahoma Sooners". SoonerSports.com. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
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