Dick Fosbury

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Fosbury started experimenting with a new high-jumping technique at age 16 while attending Medford High School. He had difficulty competing using the dominant straddle method, a complex motion where an athlete goes over the bar facing down and lifts their legs individually. Fosbury found it hard to coordinate all the motions, so he began to experiment. He first tried the upright scissors method, running upright toward the bar and lifting his straight legs one at a time. Gradually, he shifted his positioning, and by his senior year he was going over the bar backward, head-first, curving his body and kicking his legs up. This required landing on his back, made possible because his high school had replaced its wood chip landing pit with a softer material. The technique gained the name 'Fosbury Flop' when in 1964 the Medford Mail-Tribune ran a photo captioned 'Fosbury Flops Over Bar.' After graduating in 1965, he enrolled at Oregon State University. His coach, Berny Wagner, initially believed Fosbury would achieve greater results using the western roll, but after Fosbury cleared 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) in his first meet of his second year, shattering the school record, Wagner abandoned that approach. Fosbury won the 1968 NCAA title and the U.S. Olympic Trials. At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, he took the gold medal and set a new Olympic record at 2.24 m (7 ft 4+1⁄4 in). He never returned to the Olympics but served on the executive board of the World Olympians Association. In 2014, he challenged Steve Miller for a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives but was unsuccessful. In 2018, he ran for Blaine County Commissioner against incumbent Larry Schoen, won the seat, and took office in 2019.

Reader's Guide

Dick Fosbury's significance lies in his radical transformation of the high jump. His back-first technique, the Fosbury flop, replaced the straddle method and has been adopted by nearly all high jumpers since the 1968 Olympics. The innovation was made possible by the introduction of foam rubber landing pits, which allowed safe backward landings. Fosbury's approach—sprinting diagonally, curving, and leaping backward—lowered the center of mass in flight, enabling greater heights. His Olympic gold and record at Mexico City demonstrated the technique's potential, leading to its universal acceptance. Fosbury's legacy extends beyond his athletic career; he later served on the World Olympians Association executive board and entered local politics in Idaho, winning a seat as Blaine County Commissioner in 2018. His contribution to track and field is considered one of the most influential in the sport's history.

Did You Know?

• Fosbury's technique was first called the 'Fosbury Flop' in 1964 when the Medford Mail-Tribune ran a photo captioned 'Fosbury Flops Over Bar.'
• At the 1968 Olympics, Fosbury set a new Olympic record of 2.24 m (7 ft 4+1⁄4 in) and asked for the bar to be raised to 2.29 m (7 ft 6+1⁄8 in) to try to break the world record, but all three attempts were unsuccessful.
• Fosbury compressed a couple of vertebrae in the mid-1960s because not all high schools could afford the upgraded foam landing material.
• In 2018, Fosbury ran for Blaine County Commissioner against incumbent Larry Schoen, won the seat, and took office in 2019.