Randolph Duane Ross Sr. (born December 5, 1972) is an American collegiate track and field coach, and former athlete, specializing in the 110 meters hurdles. He is currently the Director of Track and Field programs for the University of Tennessee and is best known for winning the bronze medal at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics and representing the United States at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Ross also won the 1995 NCAA championship in the 110-meter hurdles, and as a 7-time All-American and 5 Time ACC champion is Clemson University's most decorated male hurdler.
Biography Early life Ross was born in Shelby, North Carolina, and grew up in Dallas, North Carolina, where he attended North Gaston High School. At the encouragement of his Football coach, Ross took up track and field as a way to rehabilitate an injured ankle. As a junior, Ross went on to become the 1990 NCHSAA 3A state champion in the 110 metres Hurdles.Men’s Individual Event Champions by school. NCHSAA. Retrieved December 7, 2025. After receiving a number of scholarships from various collegiate teams, Ross signed with Clemson University.
Athletic career As a college athlete at Clemson University, he won the 110 m hurdles at the 1995 NCAA championships for the Clemson Tigers. He made his first appearance on the world track stage at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where he finished fourth in the 60 meters hurdles competition, just behind compatriot Tony Dees. He returned at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, but again failed to reach the podium with another fourth-place finish, this time losing out to Falk Balzer. He had greater success outdoors that year, as he won the bronze medal in the 110 m hurdles at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics in his career personal best time of 13.12 seconds. An appearance at the 1999 IAAF Grand Prix Final, however, brought yet another fourth-place finish.Ross Duane. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-04-27.
He was the runner up at the 2004 United States Olympic Trials and competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He failed to reach the final after running 13.30 seconds for fifth place in the semi-finals of the men's hurdles competition.Duane Ross . Sports-reference. Retrieved on 2010-04-27.
Following the analysis of information received from BALCO in 2010, Ross was called to testify in a case against his coach Trevor Graham. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspended Ross for two years for attempted use, possession, and trafficking of performance-enhancing drugs.IAAF Newsletter Edition 112 . IAAF (2010-04-27). Retrieved on 2010-04-27. As a term of his suspension, all his results from November 2001 onward were nullified.Ross suspended two years. ESPN/Associated Press (2010-02-05). Retrieved on 2010-04-27.
Coaching career He returned to Clemson as a volunteer coach and in 1996. After retiring from international competition, Ross was hired by Division III Methodist University as Head Coach of their Track and Field program. While at Methodist, Ross coached the women's team to three Mason–Dixon Conference championships and placed in the top four at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Ross also earned USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors. In 2012, after five seasons at Methodist, Ross was hired as director of track & field at Division I North Carolina A&T University. Under Ross, the Aggies swept both the men's and women's outdoor and indoor Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships for the first time in program history. Following the success of the 2017 seasons, Ross coached 13 athletes, more than any HBCU in history, who competed in the 2017 NCAA Division I National Championships.
In 2021, after leading North Carolina A&T's men's track and field team to a third-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Ross was named 2021 NCAA co-coach of the year. Four athletes from the team went on to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics, including Ross's son Randolph Ross and Trevor Stewart.
In May 2022, Ross was hired as the new head coach at Tennessee, signing a five-year contract for $450,000 annually.
Statistics Personal bests Event Time (sec) Venue Date 50 metres hurdles 6.36 Liévin, France February 21, 1999 60 metres hurdles 7.42 Madrid, Spain February 16, 1999 110 metres hurdles 13.12 Seville, Spain August 25, 1999
60m Hurdles progression YearPerformanceVenueDateWorld ranking19977.52sAtlanta United States 1 March—19987.43sAtlanta United States 28 February—19997.42sMadrid Spain 16 February—20017.88sSpala Poland 9 February—
110m Hurdles progression YearPerformanceVenueDateWorld ranking199313.74s (+ 0.9)New Orleans United States 4 June—199413.48s Philadelphia United States 30 April—199513.32s (+1.2) Knoxville United States 3 June—199613.45s (+1.8) Atlanta United States 21 June—199713.50s (-0.6) Clemson United States 17 May—199813.24s (-0.5) Dortmund Germany 7 June—199913.12s (+1.0) Seville (La Cartuja) Spain 25 August—200013.53s (+0.2) Chapel Hill United States 18 June—
International competitions Representing 1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 4th 60 m hurdles 1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 4th 60 m hurdles World Championships Seville, Spain 3rd 110 m hurdles IAAF Grand Prix Final Munich, Germany 4th 110 m hurdles 2003World Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, MonacoDSQ (6th)110 m hurdles 2004Summer OlympicsAthens, GreeceDSQ (5th (semis))110 m hurdlesWorld Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, MonacoDSQ (8th)110 m hurdles
National competitions 1995 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships Knoxville Tennessee 1st 110 m hurdles 1997 United States Indoor Championships Atlanta Georgia 2nd 60 m hurdles1998 United States Indoor Championships Atlanta Georgia 1st 60 m hurdles US Outdoor Championships Eugene, OregonDNF 110m Hurdles1999 United States Indoor Championships Atlanta Georgia 2nd 60 m hurdles US Outdoor Championships Eugene, Oregon 4th 110m Hurdles2000 US Olympic Trials Sacramento, CaliforniaDSQ (semi) 110 m hurdles 2001 US Outdoor Championships Eugene, Oregon 5th (semi) 110m Hurdles 2002 US Outdoor Championships Eugene, Oregon DSQ (4th) 110m Hurdles 2003 US Outdoor Championships Eugene, Oregon DSQ (DNF) 110m Hurdles 2004 US Outdoor Championships Eugene, OregonDSQ (2nd) 110m Hurdles 2005 US Outdoor Championships Eugene, Oregon DSQ (19th) 110m Hurdles
Coaching record Season Team Indoor Finish Outdoor Finish Notes Conference National Conference National 2009 Women's 7th — 6th — 2010 Women's 4th — 5th 10th 2011 Women's 1st 4th 1st 3rd 2012 Women's 2nd 4th 1st 4th 2013 Men 4th — 5th — Women 8th — 8th —2014 Men 3rd — 2nd — Women 12th — 7th —2015 Men 2nd — 2nd — Women 3rd — 5th —2016 Men 2nd — 2nd — Women 3rd — 4th —2017 Men 1st — 1st 14th Women 1st — 1st —2019 Men 1st — 1st 15th Women 1st 7th 15th —2020 Men 1st Championship not held Championship not held Championship not held Women 1st Championship not held Championship not held Championship not held2021 Men Championship not held 5th 1st 3rd Women Championship not held 45th 1st 4th
References
External links Duane Ross at USATF