High jump history
Richard Douglas (“Dick”) Fosbury was born on 6 March 1947 in Portland, Oregon. He is widely credited with inventing the Fosbury flop, a back-first jumping technique that revolutionised the high jump. He developed the flop aged 16 after finding the standard techniques difficult.
Revolutionary technique
At the time, jumpers took off from their inside foot and swung their outside foot up and over the bar. Fosbury's technique was to race up to the bar at great speed and take off from his right (or outside) foot. Then he twisted his body so that he went over the bar head first with his back to the bar.
Olympic gold
His technique truly changed the sport at the 1968 Mexico City Games. Despite scepticism from judges and coaches, Fosbury cleared every height up to 2.22 metres without a miss and then achieved a personal record of 2.24 metres to win the gold medal. By 1980, 13 of the 16 Olympic finalists were using the Fosbury flop.