Dick Fosbury, born Richard Douglas Fosbury, was an American high jumper who lived from 1947 to 2023 and won the gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics with an Olympic record jump of 2.24 metres. He revolutionized the event by developing the back first technique of sprinting diagonally toward the bar and curving backward over it, which became known as the Fosbury Flop after a newspaper caption described him as flopping over the bar. By the 1980 Olympics thirteen of sixteen finalists used his method, and between 1972 and 2000 thirty four of thirty six Olympic high jump medalists employed the Fosbury Flop, making it the dominant technique worldwide.
Facts
Career HighlightWon gold at the 1968 Summer Olympics with the Fosbury flop 1 Classification
Competition Category FAQs
What did Dick Fosbury do after his 1968 Olympic victory?
He won the NCAA title again in 1969 and then turned professional in 1973 with limited success.
After his Olympic victory he won the NCAA title again in 1969, which was his only major post-Olympic victory. He turned professional in 1973 with limited success, and later became a civil engineer near Sun Valley, Idaho.
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Source Dick Fosbury (Wikipedia)
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Source Dick Fosbury (Wikipedia)Lead sentence 1Quote, Lead sentence 1
Richard Douglas Fosbury (March 6, 1947 – March 12, 2023) was an American high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field.
Sources
1. Dick Fosbury (Wikipedia)
Lead sentence 1, birth date
Richard Douglas Fosbury (March 6, 1947
Introduction
Richard Douglas Fosbury (March 6, 1947 - March 12, 2023) was an American high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field.
Lead sentence 1, nationality
was an American high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field.
Introduction
He won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics, revolutionizing the high jump event with a "back-first" technique now known as the Fosbury flop.
Introduction
Richard Douglas Fosbury (March 6, 1947 - March 12, 2023) was an American high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field. He won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics, revolutionizing the high jump event with a "back-first" technique now known as the Fosbury flop. His method was to sprint diagonally towards the bar, then curve and leap backward over it, which gave him a much lower center of mass in flight than traditional techniques.
Competed In: 1968 Summer Olympics, lead paragraph, competed-in
He won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics, revolutionizing the high jump event with a "back-first" technique now known as the Fosbury flop.
View the SourceWikidata: Dick Fosbury
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