| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1977-10-15)October 15, 1977 (age 48) |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country | USA |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Javelin throw |
| Coached by | John Zera |
| Updated on 13 September 2015 | |
Serene Ross (born October 15, 1977) is an American formertrack and field athlete who competed in thejavelin throw. Her personal record of 60.06 m (197 ft1⁄2 in) is a formerAmerican record for the discipline.
Ross was both United States champion and NCAA champion in the javelin in 2002. She represented her country twice internationally: at theSummer Universiade in 2001 and theIAAF World Cup in 2002.
Born inEdinburg, Pennsylvania, she attendedWilmington Area High School before going on to study sociology atPurdue University between 1997 and 2002. While at college she competed in NCAA competition for thePurdue Boilermakers team, with her first major placing being seventh in the javelin throw at the 1999NCAA Outdoor Championships.[1]
Ross threw at national level at the2000 United States Olympic Trials, placing 19th in qualifying. Collegiately, she competed in both javelin andhammer throw events that year. At the NCAA Championships she was 13th in javelin and 18th in hammer. She claimed her first regional title in the hammer throw at theBig Ten Conference championships. Ross moved up the national javelin rankings with a sixth-place finish at the 2001 NCAA Championships,[1] then third place at the2001 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[2] The latter performance earned her the chance to represent the United States at the2001 World Championships in Athletics, but she did not achieve the qualifying standard within the time period.[3] Following a new personal record of 54.72 m (179 ft6+1⁄4 in) at the USATF Midsummer Classic meet, Ross made her international debut at the2001 Summer Universiade, where she ended seventh overall.[4] She ranked fourth in the United States that year.[1]
The 2002 season marked the high point of her career. She started the year in theweight throw, taking 15th place at theNCAA Indoor Championships. Outdoors, she focused on the javelin and came third at theMt. SAC Relays before setting a personal record of 57.30 m (187 ft11+3⁄4 in) to win her first Big Ten Conference title in that discipline.[1] She broke theAmerican record in the javelin at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a throw of 59.64 m (195 ft 8 in). This made her only the second Purdue female athlete to win an NCAA title (afterCorissa Yasen's 1996 heptathlon win).[5][6][7] She following this up with the first and only national title of her career at the2002 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, improving her own American record to 60.06 m (197 ft1⁄2 in) in the process.[8][9] That record lasted only one month asKim Kreiner (the runner-up at the national event) threw 60.68 m (199 ft3⁄4 in) that July.[10] Ross was selected for the2002 IAAF World Cup team and duly finished fifth at the event.[11]
Ross gained a professional sponsorship deal withNike, Inc. but did not compete at a high level in 2003. She returned to competition in 2004 and had a season's best of 57.25 m (187 ft9+3⁄4 in).[11] At the2004 United States Olympic Trials she was the second highest qualifier, but did not improve in the final round and placed fifth with a mark of 53.20 m (174 ft6+1⁄4 in).[12] She did not compete at a high level after the 2004 season. As she had not formally retired, she was still underUSA Track & Field rules and subsequently failed adoping test in 2006 for two banned diuretics (hydrochlorothiazide andtriamterene). She was banned for two years from the sport, although she had not been competing during that period regardless.[13]
After retiring from competition, she went into coaching and became a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater.[14]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Universiade | Beijing, China | 7th | 51.21 m |
| 2002 | IAAF World Cup | Madrid, Spain | 5th | 56.91 m |
