Sep
11th
Fri
11th
The Revolutionary High Jumper Dick Fosbury
You probably tought like me that high jump olympic track and field discipline has been unchanged for centuries. That the jumpers have always been using the back-first technique. But no! A single man, Richard “Dick” Fosbury, has changed everything at the Mexico City Olympic in 1968 by setting a new Olympic record and winning the gold medal.
Before him, every athletes, no exception, were using the face toward technique named the “straddle method”. But for Fosbury, even as hard as he tried, the straddle never works for him, so he developed his own technique. Today his technique is called the “Fosbury Flop” and it is used by 98% of the high jump athletes.
His story is fascinating. I’m encouraging you reading it.
(via Instapaper)
