USATF welcomes Robert Chapman as Associate Director of Sports Medicine and Science

USATF Press Release
May 25, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS -Renowned exercise physiologist and longtime Indiana University coach Robert Chapman has been named the Associate Director of Sports Medicine & Science by USA Track & Field. The first person to fill the newly created post, Chapman will begin his duties full time on June 8 under the direction of USATF Chief of High Performance Benita Fitzgerald Mosley.

Chapman will be the point person for USATF's hands-on High Performance programs with athletes, coaches and sports scientists. His duties will include coordinating USATF's High Performance Workshops, where leading sport scientists work one-on-one with top athletes and coaches. With upwards of 40 being held each year across all event disciplines, the Workshops will apply science and medicine to help athletes get the extra fraction of a percent they may need to get or stay on the podium at major championships.

"Following up on the recommendations of the Project 30 Task Force, our 2012 High Performance Plan includes an increased emphasis on sport science and medicine, which are two areas of support most highly valued by our athletes and coaches," said Fitzgerald Mosley. "Robert will be the critical piece in bringing these areas together, and taking the latest advances directly to athletes. His experience and expertise undoubtedly will help our athletes maximize their potential."

Considered one of America's foremost authorities on altitude training and applied exercise science for the elite distance runner, Chapman has made formal presentations at a wide range of scientific meetings and coaching seminars. In his new role with USATF, he will oversee the organization and administration of sport science and sport medicine programs conducted by USATF's High Performance Division at various times and locales throughout the U.S. He will also coordinate USATF and USOC sports scientists in their work at USATF High Performance and athlete development programs, and he will coordinate the scientific testing and filming at training camps, domestic competitions and select international competitions.

"I couldn't be more pleased with how USATF has stepped up to prioritize sport science," said Ralph Mann, an internationally renowned sport scientist in sprints and hurdles who served on USATF's Project 30 Task Force. "Having someone like Robert to direct these programs full-time is so important. I'm especially excited about Robert's first project, going directly to athletes beginning with the sprints and hurdles in June, and expanding to other areas such as throws and jumps and distances. These programs directly affect athletes and will reap huge dividends."

A state champion runner in high school and a top scholar, Chapman's career began in 1990 when he took over the girls cross country and distance program at Boulder (Colo.) High School. In his two seasons at the helm, Boulder City was the class AA state champions in track in both 1990 and 1991.

Chapman earned his B.S. degree from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 1991 and his master's degree from Indiana University in 1992. He earned a Ph. D in Human Performance/Exercise Physiology from I.U. in 1996.

Following a post-doctoral fellowship, where he directed altitude training projects for USATF and the USOC, Chapman became the men's distance coach at I.U. in 1998. While at Indiana, Chapman coached multiple NCAA All-Americans and athletes that qualified for USATF national championship events. Three athletes mentored by Chapman won NCAA or USATF Championships, and on six occasions his athletes qualified for USA National Teams.

Chapman served most recently as a member of the I.U. faculty in the Department of Kinesiology. Chapman served for four years as head coach and director of Team Indiana Elite, which is a USATF Foundation recognized Distance Training Center, and earlier this year he served as the Junior Men's Team Leader at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

For more information on USA Track & Field, visit: www.usatf.org.

 

 

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