Ramon Clay (born June 29, 1975) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sprinter who specialized in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

. He was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. As a senior at Nashville's Hunters Lane High School, despite having the flu during the State Championships, Clay was the champion in the 100, 200, and 400 meters. His personal bests in high school were hand timed at 10.2 in the 100m, 20.9 in the 200m, and 46.4 in the 400m, before the State used automatic timing. His best 200 and 400 times were recorded a mere 20 minutes apart at the Banner Relays in Nashville. He attended

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 a ...

. At the 1996 Olympic Trials, he just missed representing the USA at the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in the 200 meters, finishing 4th in a race where a world record time (19.66 seconds) was set by Michael Johnson. His time in the race was 20.08, just .04 seconds behind 3rd-place finisher and former American record holder Michael Marsh. He won a silver medal (in the

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

) at the 1994 World Junior Championships, finished fourth at the 2002 IAAF World Cup and seventh at the

2003 IAAF World Athletics Final The 1st IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on 13 September and 14 September 2003. It was the series finale for the 2003 IAAF World Outdoor Meetings and the successor tournament to the 2002 IAAF Grand ...

. He became US Outdoor champion in 2002, and US Indoor champion in 1998. He also competed at the 2001 World Championships without reaching the final. His personal best times were 20.05 seconds in the 200 meters, achieved in July 2001 in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

; 10.21 seconds in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

, achieved in May 2003 in Sainte Anne; and 6.56 seconds in the

60 meters 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

(indoor), achieved in February 2003 in

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. On October 22, 2010 the

United States Anti-Doping Agency The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

determined that Clay was guilty of using steroids and hormones officially dating back to January 1, 2000. Clay was implicated as part of the

BALCO The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) (1984–2003) was an American company led by founder and owner Victor Conte. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug sports scandal later re ...

scandal. His results subsequent to that date were disqualified and even though he is retired, he also received a two-year ban from the sport.

Achievements

References

1975 births Living people American male sprinters Sportspeople from Memphis, Tennessee Doping cases in athletics American sportspeople in doping cases {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub