Background
Joshua Ross was born 9 February 1981 in Sydney, Australia.
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.
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. He reached the semi finals at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2005 World Championships.
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.
Ross retired in 2009. Ross also threatened to walk out of the Australian 4 × 100 m 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.
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.
He is recognized in the Australian Olympic Committee list of Australian Indigenous Olympians. General references.
He was a member of the Australian 4 × 100 m relay team that equalled the Australian record when they qualified for the finals at the 2012 London Olympics.