Who Was Dick Fosbury?
The athlete who jumped backward into history
Dick Fosbury (full name Richard Douglas Fosbury) was an American high jumper born on March 6, 1947, in Portland, Oregon. He wasn’t just another athlete—he was the inventor of one of the most important sports techniques in history: the Fosbury Flop.
Before Fosbury, everyone in high jump went forward over the bar. But Fosbury changed that forever by jumping backward, arching his body like a bow, and landing on his back.
His technique is now used by almost every high jumper in the world, at every level—from school competitions all the way to the Olympics.
Early Life: A Kid Who Wasn’t “Naturally Good”
Fosbury wasn’t a typical prodigy.
In school, he struggled with traditional high-jump techniques like:
- The scissors jump
- The western roll
- The straddle technique
He wasn’t winning competitions. He wasn’t setting records. But he did have something unusual:
1 A stubborn willingness to experiment
2 A creative mind
3 A dislike for doing things “the normal way”
That combination changed everything.
The Birth of the Fosbury Flop
Through trial and error, Fosbury discovered that leaning backward, lifting the hips first, and arching his back over the bar made jumping easier and more efficient.
It started as a small experiment.
Then it became a unique style.
Then it became unstoppable.
Athletes, crowds, and coaches thought it looked bizarre.
Some even laughed.
But results don’t lie — and Fosbury kept improving.
Olympic Glory: The Moment That Shocked the World
At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Fosbury performed his unusual backward jump on the world’s biggest stage.
He cleared 2.24 meters (7 ft 4¼ in), setting a new Olympic record and winning gold.
In that moment, the world realized:
“This strange jump… might actually be the best way to do it.”
Within a few years, nearly every top high jumper had switched to his technique.
Impact on the Sport
Dick Fosbury didn’t just win a medal — he revolutionized biomechanics in athletics. His jump:
- Changed how coaches trained athletes
- Introduced new physics principles into high jump
- Became the global standard
- Showed young athletes that creativity can beat tradition
Sports scientists consider the Fosbury Flop one of the greatest technique innovations in modern athletics.
Why His Technique Works
The Fosbury Flop is powerful because it lowers the athlete’s center of mass, allowing them to clear higher bars with less actual vertical lift.
In short:
The jumper’s body goes over the bar — but their center of mass goes under it.
It’s a genius biomechanical trick.
Life After Athletics
Fosbury wasn’t defined by one moment. After retiring:
- He became an engineer
- Served his community
- Promoted youth athletics
- Worked to improve sports safety
- Became an inspirational figure for innovation
Dick Fosbury passed away in March 2023, but his influence remains in every high-jump competition happening today.
Why Dick Fosbury Matters
He changed a sport not by being the strongest or fastest…
but by being the most creative.