Dick Fosbury
The high jumper who flipped the world upside down.
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He won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics using this method.[1] Since Fosbury's performance in Mexico, his technique has become nearly universally adopted.[1]
Key facts and history
Fosbury gradually adapted his technique, and by his senior year he went over the bar backward, head-first, curving his body over the bar.[2] The technique gained the name "Fosbury Flop" in 1964 when a newspaper photo was captioned "Fosbury Flops Over Bar"[3] Fosbury cleared 6 ft 10 in in his first meet of his second year, shattering the school record and ending the debate over technique.[4] Fosbury was born in Portland, Oregon, and at age 16, while a student at Medford High School, he began trying a new high-jumping approach.[5]
During his second year of high school, he could not clear 5 ft, the height needed to qualify for many track meets.[2] After finishing high school in 1965, Fosbury went to Oregon State University, where coach Berny Wagner initially wanted him to use the western roll technique.[4]
What the cited sources add
A 2009 book by Hoffer, published by Simon & Schuster, describes Fosbury's early attempts, which one historian called an "airborne seizure".[2][6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Dick Fosbury" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "World Olympians Association Website", Woaolympians.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Dick Fosbury" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hoffer, "Something in the Air: American Passion and Defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics", Simon & Schuster, 2009, p. 69–80 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Dick Fosbury" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fuqua, "Anything but a Flop: Fifty Years Ago, OSU High Jumper Dick Fosbury's New Style Launched His Event Toward New Heights", Corvallis Gazette Times, March 29, 2014, p. A1, A9; Hoffer, "Something in the Air: American Passion and Defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics", Simon & Schuster, 2009, p. 69–80; Hoffer, "Something in the Air: American Passion and Defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics", Simon and Schuster, September 22, 2009, p. 74 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Dick Fosbury" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Durso, "Fearless Fosbury Flops to Glory", The New York Times, October 20, 1968; Fuqua, "Anything but a Flop: Fifty Years Ago, OSU High Jumper Dick Fosbury's New Style Launched His Event Toward New Heights", Corvallis Gazette Times, March 29, 2014, p. A1, A9; Fuqua, "Anything but a Flop: Fifty Years Ago, OSU High Jumper Dick Fosbury's New Style Launched His Event Toward New Heights", Corvallis Gazette Times, March 29, 2014, p. A1, A9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Dick Fosbury" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dick Fosbury", Hall of Fame (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9781416593898 ("Something in the Air"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Dick Fosbury (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Career statistics and honours
Medals
- Gold Olympic Games — 1968 Mexico City High jump
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Dick Fosbury (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Dick Fosbury (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
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