Dr. Ralph Mann, Ph.D.
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.