R.I.P. Dick Fosbury

Dick Fosbury, the 1968 Olympic Gold Medalist in the high jump whose innovative technique is now the standard in the sport, died March 12th, 2023 at the age of 76. Fosbury died from a recurrence of lymphoma, a disease he had successfully battled 15 years ago.

A native of Oregon, Fosbury began to develop a new method of high jumping while still in high school and perfected it as a member of the Oregon State University track team. At that time, the Western roll and straddle techniques were the standard forms, involving going up and over the bar face down. Fosbury’s came up with a novel approach in which he went over the bar backwards and head first, arching his back and curving over the bar, throwing his legs up in the air as he did so to keep them from hitting the bar. Fosbury won the NCAA championship in the high jump in both 1968 and 1969 using his technique, which had been dubbed the Fosbury Flop.

In between those NCAA titles, Fosbury competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. It was at these games that the Fosbury Flop gained international attention. Fosbury won the Gold Medal in the event with a jump of 7’ 4 1/4”, which was a new Olympic record. The Fosbury Flop rapidly became the dominant high jump technique; all but two of the 36 medalists in the Olympic high jump from 1972 through 2000 used it.

Fosbury, who went on to have a career as a civil engineer, was elected to the National Track Hall of Fame in 1981 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1992.