2007 National Podium Education Project
Ralph Mann Speaker Bio

An authority in the field of sports biomechanics, Dr. Ralph Mann has analyzed the performance of top amateur and professional athletes in numerous sports including track and field, golf, baseball, football and horse racing. He was a world class track and field athlete himself, winning numerous national and international championships, including an Olympic silver medal in the 400 Hurdles. Following a tenured teaching and research career at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Mann began a consulting career that specialized in sports performance analysis.

In 1982, Dr. Mann was one of the six individuals that created the Elite Athlete Program that brought sports science to USA Track and Field. For the past 25 years, he has served as the Director of the Elite Athlete Sprint and Hurdle Program. Every elite sprinter and hurdler during this time period has been biomechanically analyzed, with the goal of understanding the characteristics of great sprinters and hurdlers. This information has been used to evaluate and improve the performance of virtually every US sprint/hurdle athlete since the program’s inception.

Dr. Mann holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering (BS) and Biomechanics (Ph.D). In addition, he has developed two patents, authored numerous articles in both scientific and trade publications, and presented at a wide variety of national and international scientific and teaching conferences.