High Jumper Who Invented ‘Fosbury Flop’ Was 76

Legendary athlete Dick Fosbury, who enthralled TV viewers throughout the 1968 Mexico Metropolis Olympic Video games, the place he received the Gold within the excessive soar, has died. He was 76.

Fosbury’s passing was confirmed by his publicist Ray Schulte on Monday (March 13), who wrote on Instagram, “It’s with a really heavy coronary heart I’ve to launch the information that longtime good friend and consumer Dick Fosbury handed away peacefully in his sleep early Sunday morning after a brief bout with a recurrence of lymphoma.”

Acknowledged as probably the most influential athletes in monitor and discipline historical past, the Gold medalist turned heads on the 1968 Olympics when he showcased his signature “Fosbury Flop,” the place he would run diagonally in the direction of the bar within the excessive soar and throw himself over again first. His spectacular method broke Olympic and US data, incomes a gold medal with a soar of two.24 meters.

After returning to the U.S. following his Olympics victory, Fosbury made appearances on The Tonight Present with Johnny Carson and The Mike Douglas Present. And that very same 12 months, the “flop” helped Fosbury win the NCAA indoor and outside championships. The transfer quickly grew to become the adopted method of excessive soar athletes around the globe.

Fosbury by no means returned to the Olympics, however he continued to be concerned in athletics after retirement, serving on the chief board of the World Olympians Affiliation. In 1981, he was inducted into the Nationwide Observe and Discipline Corridor of Fame.

Throughout his medal ceremony on the 1968 Olympics, Fosbury confirmed solidarity with the sooner civil rights protest on the video games by elevating his fist after the nationwide anthem. And, in 2014, he ran as a Democrat for a seat within the Idaho Home of Representatives, although he misplaced out to incumbent Republican Consultant Steve Miller.

He additionally based the non-profit group World Match with fellow Olympians Gary Corridor and Anne Cribbs. The corporate promotes youth health packages and Olympic beliefs.

“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of Dick Fosbury, a real legend and pioneer on this planet of monitor and discipline. Dick’s revolutionary strategy of the ‘Fosbury Flop’ revolutionized the excessive soar occasion and without end modified the game,” Max Siegel, CEO of USA Observe & Discipline mentioned in an announcement (through CNN).

“His gold medal victory on the 1968 Mexico Metropolis Olympics not solely cemented his place in U.S. Olympic historical past, but additionally left an indelible mark on the worldwide athletic group. We’ll at all times be pleased about his contributions to the game and his influence on generations of athletes who adopted in his footsteps.”

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