Dick Fosbury never intended to turn high jumping on its head. Leaving an indelible mark on the sport of track and field was not his mission."I certainly didn't set out to change the world," says the accidental revolutionary, who in the 1960s not only introduced a then-radical high-jumping technique that would change the event forever but also coined a catchy name for it: the Fosbury Flop. "I was just trying to figure out a way to jump a little higher for my own self."But after Fosbury won Olympic gold at the 1968 Mexico City Games by utilizing his unorthodox new technique — turning his back to the bar before propelling himself over rather than stretching out face down in the time-honored "straddle" style still widely in vogue at the time — high jumping was never the same. Dick Fosbury was the first successful high jumper to use a style other than the scissors or straddle. His technique would become known as the "Fosbury Flop."
(Tony Duffy)
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