Dick Fosbury RIP (coach, olympic, gold medal, medal)

[recycled]

The guy who in 1968 turned a flop into a great success, Dick Fosbury, has died. Few have ever changed how a sporting event is performed based on their own singular achievement, the gold medal winning Fosbury Flop. I remember watching it on a black & white TV in 1968 for the first time and the impact it had on so many viewers across the globe.

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/20/65902...high-jump-flop

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by recycled

The guy who in 1968 turned a flop into a great success, Dick Fosbury, has died. Few have ever changed how a sporting event is performed based on their own singular achievement, the gold medal winning Fosbury Flop. I remember watching it on a black & white TV in 1968 for the first time and the impact it had on so many viewers across the globe.

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/20/65902...high-jump-flop

Donald Wallace Gordon deserves an assist for the "Flop" as he invented the landing pads (at the elite level) that allowed people to land on their back. Fosbury went from a mediocre high jumper to an Olympic champ when he was able to adapt that style. RIP.

[karlsch]

The flop wouldn't have been possible without the improved landing pits.

Although we are used to seeing it now because everybody uses it, many think that if Fosbury hadn't invented the “flipping on your back” technique, which seems to be an implausible way to high jump, it might have been a long time before somebody did. Jumpers today might still be using the “western roll”.

I remember at the time, many coaches saying it couldn't possibly work, even when Fosbury showed that it did.