Ralph Vernon Mann (born June 16, 1949) is a retired American sprinter and hurdler. He was an undergraduate at Brigham Young University, and later earned a Ph.D. in Biomechanics from the Washington State University.[1]
![]() | |||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ralph Vernon Mann | ||||||||||||||||
Born | (1949-06-16) June 16, 1949 (age 73) Long Beach, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||
Weight | 86 kg (190 lb) | ||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Sprint, hurdles | ||||||||||||||||
Club | Southern California Striders | ||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||
Personal best(s) | 440 y – 46.6 (1970) 120 yH – 13.9 (1968) 400 mH – 48.51 (1972) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
In 1969, Mann won his first NCAA 440 yard hurdles championship with a time of 49.6 seconds. Tying the NCAA and American records, the time was three-tenths of a second off the world record. A year later in Des Moines, Iowa, Mann captured his second NCAA championship and set a new world-record time of 48.8 seconds for the 440 intermediate hurdles. During his collegiate career Ralph was NCAA champion three times. He was a three-time All-American, and in 1970 was second in the voting for the Sullivan Award.
He competed in the 400 m hurdles at the 1972 Olympics and won the silver medal.[2] Ralph was a five-time AAU champion. He received the AAU’s DiBenedetto Award for the single most outstanding career, most notably for his Olympic silver medal. In 2015, he was inducted into the USA National Track and Field Hall of Fame.[3]
Mann co-wrote the book Swing Like a Pro: The Breakthrough Scientific Method of Perfecting Your Golf Swing with Fred Griffin. This book was the culmination of Mann's expertise in the field of biomechanics and Griffin's experience of teaching golf as a PGA Professional.[4] Mann has two children, Amber and Randall, a poet and literary critic.
Sporting positions | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Unknown |
Men's 400m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1971 |
Succeeded by |
Pan American Champions in men's 400 metres hurdles | |
---|---|
|
US National Championship winners in men's 400 m/440 yd hurdles | |
---|---|
1914–1979 Amateur Athletic Union |
|
1980–1992 The Athletics Congress |
|
1993–present USA Track & Field |
|
Notes |
|
1972 USA Olympic track and field team | ||
---|---|---|
Qualification |
| ![]() |
Men's track and road athletes |
| |
Men's field athletes |
| |
Women's track athletes |
| |
Women's field athletes |
| |
Coaches |
|
General | |
---|---|
National libraries | |
Other |
![]() ![]() ![]() | This article about a track and field Olympic medalist of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |