High jump legend Dick Fosbury is dead

Not many athletes make it into the annals of sports history, but American track and field athlete Dick Fosbury achieved this by introducing his revolutionary jumping technique in the high jump, the "Fosbury Flop," which permanently changed the high jump worldwide.

It is important to remember that before the introduction of Fosbury's new jumping technique, athletes used different jumping techniques. First, there was the shear jump, in which the athlete flung the leg that was closer to the bar into the air above the bar and then trailed the jumping leg. Then came the roll jump, but many athletes found it too complicated. Later came the "toss" or also called the "straddle", in which the high jumper crosses the bar on his stomach. The jumping leg is the one that is closer to the bar. The swing leg makes an arc over the bar. When performed perfectly, it is also called a "diving roll" and is considered equal to the Fosbury Flop. In 1977, Vladimir Yashchenko, a jumper competing for the Soviet Union, jumped over the heights of 2.33 m, 2.34 m and 2.35 m with a straddle in 1977 and 1978 and set a world record at that time. However, the individual top performances of individual jumpers with a straddle could no longer stop the triumphant advance of the Fosbury flop.

Dick Fosbury had previously used the straddle as a jumping technique himself, but once broke his hand in an accidental attempt; after all, in the straddle you land on your hands and one leg. This was probably the impetus for Fosbury to try a new jumping technique, which he created himself. Born on March 6, 1947, the American from Portland was considered a loner who did not like to train. Dick Fosbury participated in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico and won the gold medal on October 20, 1968 with his own jumping technique, crossing the jumping height of 2.24 m. According to his own later statements, he was completely overwhelmed with the victory at the Olympics and its worldwide impact. It is therefore not surprising that he ended his career only one year later and at the age of only 22. Although he worked as a civil engineer from then on, he always remained connected to the sport, especially as a board member of the World Olympians Association, which he chaired as president from 2007 to 2011.

Nowadays, the high jump technique he invented and introduced is considered the standard technique for high jumpers. All high jumpers of the present and the last decades used and still use his jumping technique, which led him to the Olympic victory himself. With his death on March 12, 2023, a sports legend will now be carried to his grave, who changed and improved the sports world significantly and permanently. The grief and respect for this sports hero is immeasurable. Rest in peace, Dick Fosbury.