Overview
Ryan Wilson (born December 19, 1980) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 110 meters hurdles. He is a previous national champion after winning at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and the current national silver medal holder at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He was the 2003 NCAA champion in the event and won four hurdles titles in the Pacific-10 Conference. He was the bronze medalist at the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final and was the runner-up at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His personal best time of 13.02 seconds, set in 2007 at the Reebok Grand Prix, ranks him within the top twenty fastest of all time in the event.
Career
College
Born in Columbus,Ohio, he competed in a variety of sports while at The Columbus Academy and later at Westerville North High School. He earned Academic All-Ohio honours for his studies. He graduated in 1999, and moved on to attend the University of Southern California. Competing for the USC Trojans, he won the high hurdles competition in the Pacific-10 Conference on three occasions. He came third at the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in his second year. In his final year of college athletics he won the NCAA title in the 110 m hurdles, as well as claiming both 110 and 400 meters hurdles titles in the Pac-10 outdoor competition.
Professional
After turning professional in 2004 he ran at the United States Olympic Trials but did not make it past the quarter-finals. After an uneventful 2005, he took third place at the 2006 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and improved his personal best to 13.22 seconds. He won the 110 m hurdles for the United States at that year's DecaNation event in France. He began 2007 with a win at the FBK Games and then set a career best at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York City, taking third behind Liu Xiang and Terrence Trammell in a time of 13.02 seconds. He was a regular fixture on the 2007 IAAF Golden League circuit and reached the top three at top European meets including Herculis, the British Grand Prix, ISTAF, and a win at the London Grand Prix.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).