Ronnie Ash (born July 2, 1988) is an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete specializing in

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

. With his 12.99 (+1.2)

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

on June 29, 2014 in a semi-final round of the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, he moved into the prestigious sub 13 club and is currently the 17th fastest hurdler in history. Ash did not finish in the final. Later in the season, Ash was silver medalist at the

2014 IAAF Continental Cup The 2014 IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event that was held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 13–14 September 2014. It was the second edition of the IAAF Continental Cup since the name and format was changed from th ...

, 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. 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 Passaic ( or ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in New Jersey, the state's 16th-most-populous ...

, Ash began hurdling at Knightdale High School in

Knightdale, North Carolina Knightdale is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Knightdale has a population of 19,435, up from 11,401 in 2010. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the town's population to be 17,843, as of July 1, 2019. ...

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." He set school records in the

300 meters hurdles The 300 metres hurdles is a track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is ...

and the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. Graduating in 2008, he had the opportunity to run in the

2008 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics The 5th NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics were held in Toluca, Mexico, at the Estadio Universitario Alberto Chivo Cordova, Alberto "Chivo" Córdova Stadium at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México on July 18–20, 2008. A detail ...

, where he captured a bronze medal behind future

world champions A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Jason Richardson Jason Anthoney Richardson Sr. (born January 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall ...

and

Ryan Brathwaite Ryan Brathwaite (born June 6, 1988) is a track and field athlete from Barbados who won the gold medal in the 110 metres hurdles at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin. In recognition of his achievements, on September 17, 2009 Bra ...

. 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 The NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate indoor track and field competitions for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for athletes from institutions that make up its three ...

and the

NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate outdoor track and field competitions for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

as a sophomore, outdoors over Richardson. The following season he switched to the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, defending his indoor championship and finishing third outdoors. A couple of weeks later, he finished third at the

2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Drake Stadium, Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on June 23–27, 2010. In order to boost the visibility of this event, USATF sponsored a member appreciation tent at the event and ...

. Later that summer he returned to the

2010 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics The 6th NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics were held in Miramar, Florida, United States, at the Ansin Sports Complex on July 9–11, 2010. A detailed report on the results was given. Medal summary Detailed results can be found on t ...

, 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 Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

was +3.1 mps, well over the legal limit, so the time couldn't count for record purposes, but foretold of his capability.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ash, Ronnie 1988 births Living people American male hurdlers Bethune–Cookman Wildcats men's track and field athletes Oklahoma Sooners men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Oklahoma African-American track and field athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Sportspeople from Passaic, New Jersey 21st-century African-American sportsmen NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportsmen