Dick Fosbury
American high jumper (1947–2023) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 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 the bar, which gave him a much lower center of mass in flight than traditional techniques. Debbie Brill was developing her similar "Brill Bend" around the same time. This approach has seen nearly universal adoption since Fosbury's performance in Mexico. Though he never returned to the Olympics, Fosbury continued to be involved in athletics after retirement and served on the executive board of the World Olympians Association.[2]
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | Richard Douglas Fosbury | ||||||||||||||
Born | (1947-03-06)March 6, 1947 Portland, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
Died | March 12, 2023(2023-03-12) (aged 76) Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||||||||||||||
Weight | 183 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
Country | United States | ||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | High jump | ||||||||||||||
College team | Oregon State University | ||||||||||||||
Club | Oregon State Beavers, Corvallis | ||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
Personal best | 2.24 m (7 ft 4¼ in) (1968)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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In 2014, Fosbury unsuccessfully challenged Steve Miller for a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives. Fosbury ran for Blaine County Commissioner against incumbent Larry Schoen in 2018, won the seat, and took office in 2019.