Doug Sharp Position: Volunteer Assistant / Pole Vault Experience: 11th year at U of L Alma Mater: Purdue '93

Dr. Doug Sharp is in his 11th year as an assistant coach with the Cardinal track and field program and will work with the U of L pole vaulters.

Five years ago, Sharp earned national acclaim as he pushed the United States' four-man bobsled team to a bronze medal finish at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, a feat many had deemed impossible.

Sharp spent four years as a member of the U.S. National Bobsled team. His four-man crew won the 1999 U.S. National Championships and gained a third-place finish in the 2000 individual "Push" championships.

A 1993 graduate of Purdue University and a doctor of chiropractic, Sharp is a former Big Ten Champion and NCAA qualifier in the pole vault. Holding a personal-best height of 18-5, Sharp was ranked 35th in the World in 1996 and came just short of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials when a broken foot curtailed his training in that same year. Ironically, that injury is what led him to bobsledding, as his rehab program was led by a member of the U.S. Bobsled team.

The Alpena, Mich., native is responsible for building the U of L men's pole vaulting team in 1997 and introducing the first Cardinal women to the vault in 2000. He saw immediate success as then-freshman Randalene Sergent gained a runner-up finish at the women's C-USA Outdoor Championships. The 2001 season culminated with a men's conference champion, a women's conference indoor runner-up, three school records, four outdoor conference scorers and a freshman school-best, plus two women vaulters over 12 feet.

Prior to coming to U of L, Sharp spent three years as an assistant at Augustana (Ill.) College, where he developed three national qualifiers (NCAA III) in the vault. He also initiated and developed nationally-ranked female vaulter Kim Wallace-Becker, who cleared over 12-feet within six months of training with Coach Sharp.