The Mechanics of Sprinting and Hurdling: 2022 Edition

by Ralph V. Mann

Dr. Ralph Mann is a pioneer in conducting sports research, and using these results to produce computer-based teaching technology. An authority in the field of Sport Biomechanics, Dr. Mann has become a leader in analyzing the performance of top amateur and professional athletes.

A world class Track athlete himself, Dr. Mann won 5 national championships and 3 collegiate championships in the hurdles. He set the world record in the intermediate hurdles, was ranked number one in the world numerous times, and won several international titles. In the 1972 Munich Games, he won the Olympic Silver Medal in the 400 Meter Hurdles. In 2015 he was elected to the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame.

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. Since that time, he has served as a consultant to USATF for the Elite Sprint and Hurdle Program. Virtually every Elite US sprinter and hurdler during this time period has been biomechanically analyzed, with the goal of understanding the characteristics of the great sprinters and hurdlers. This information has been used to evaluate and improve the performance of every one of these athletes since the program’s inception. This book contains the findings of this unique effort.

Dr. Amber Murphy has been researching Sprinting and Hurdling for over 30 years. During that time, she has performed the data collection and analysis of thousands of Elite Athletes. Her expertise in statistics has led to the constant improvement of the results presented herein.

This edition represents a major update in the research effort on Sprinting and Hurdling, including an update of all of the performance variables to include every athlete analyzed over the past 40 years; the addition of several new variables; new insights into the Mechanics of the Sprint, Start, and Hurdles; as well as a re-evaluation of the importance of Fatigue.

Genres: Fitness

356 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 2011

About the author

Ralph Vernon Mann was an American sprinter and hurdler. He was an undergraduate at Brigham Young University, and later earned a Ph.D. in Biomechanics from Washington State University.

Reviews

[Randy Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating read. I will admit at times over my head (and I'm a hardcore track coach) and I had to reread much of it. However, I wish it told me the "how" instead of the "why" ... which is what I really need.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating work from a former world-record hurdler who (with others) has compiled analysis of biomechanics from "virtually every elite US sprinter and hurdler" since 1982. It's a dry read: technical but not dense, and easily skimmable. Anyone who performs or coaches 100m-400m sprints would benefit from this. Much of the data may not be of practical value, but the data that is feels priceless. For that, four stars overall.

Would have benefited from more professional editing and an explanation of the coauthor Amber Murphy's contribution, which I couldn't find anywhere in the book.

[Keegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of data on what good running is but not very applicable for most coaching situations

[David John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably will need to backtrack and update this, but overall a very informative book. It was great to have an initial introduction focused on the author’s background and how it influenced his approach towards addressing the topics present in this book. Some of the mechanical aspects for sprinting, and especially hurdling were new to me and the tables/figures present did and excellent job of portraying the importance of the various technical elements. That being said, while it was good to have consistency with the bar graphs, a little variety would have been welcomed too. Again, the hurdling section had a ton of information I enjoyed reading and opened my eyes to some dated training elements I’ve heard about but thankfully wasn’t exposed to as an athlete.