His flop was gold

“I never thought that I would revolutionize my sport,” said Dick Fosbury, looking back on his sports career, with which the American made history. The revolutionary in high jump technology died on Sunday evening at the age of 76 After a lymphoma flare-up, he passed away peacefully at home forever, his agent said.

Fosbury became the first high jumper to vault backwards over the bar while his competitors belly-first or “scissor jump” attempted to cross the bar. At first he had to listen to a lot of criticism and ridicule. The critics were wrong, with an Olympic record of 2.24 meters, Fosbury won gold in Mexico in 1968 at 21. After that, his technique caught on worldwide.

If his coach at the time, Bernie Wagner, had had his way, what is probably the greatest technical revolution in athletics history would not have taken place. Wagner thought Fosbury was completely on the wrong track as he prepared to cross the bar in his own unique way. “So nothing will become of you. It would be better if you went to the circus,” Wagner advised his fast but clumsy athlete. But Fosbury consistently went through with his plan, just as he was a little different from other athletes anyway. He didn’t like to train, was a loner. Instead of attending the Olympic opening ceremony, he drove a van to the Aztec pyramids to watch the sunset and spend the night there.

According to Fosbury, he was “completely overwhelmed” with the Olympic victory. He left the Olympic Village just two days after his triumph, retiring a year later.

And how did the name “Flop” come about? A sportswriter from Fosbury’s native Oregon once wrote, “Fosbury Flops Over Bar.” He likened the leaping style to a fish that flops onto land after being caught — meaning it rolls onto its back and arches its body.