‘Fosbury Flop’ High Jumper, And Oregon Native, Dick Fosbury Dies At 76

(AP) – Dick Fosbury, the lanky leaper who completely revamped the technical discipline of high jump and won an Olympic gold medal with his “Fosbury Flop,” has died at age 76 after a recurrence with lymphoma.

Fosbury died Sunday, according to his publicist, Ray Schulte.

Before Fosbury, some high jumpers cleared their height by running parallel to bar, then leaping over with a scissors kick, with their faces pointed downward.

At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Fosbury took off at an angle, leaped backward and bent himself into a “J” shape to catapult his 6-foot-4 frame over the bar.

By the next Olympics, 28 of the 40 jumpers were using Fosbury’s technique.

Today, it is by far the most-used technique for elite high jumpers across the globe.