Olympic legend dies peacefully at age 76
Dick Fosbury, the high jump gold medallist who completely changed the game with his “Fosbury Flop”, has passed away after a recurrence with lymphoma. He was 76.
"It is with a very heavy heart I have to release the news that longtime friend and client Dick Fosbury @dickfosbury68 passed away peacefully in his sleep early Sunday morning after a short bout with a recurrence of lymphoma," his publicist, Ray Schulte, wrote.
Before Fosbury, high jumpers cleared their height by running parallel to the bar, then leaping over with a scissor kick, with their faces pointed downward. At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, he took off at an angle and leapt backwards, bending himself into a “J” shape to launch his six-foot-four frame over the bar.
The leaping legend cleared 2.24 metres in Mexico City, winning gold and setting an Olympic record. By the 1972 Olympics, 28 out of the 40 jumpers were using Fosbury’s technique. Today it still stands as the most-used technique for elite jumpers worldwide.
“The world legend is probably used too often,” sprint icon Michael Johnson tweeted. "Dick Fosbury was a true LEGEND! He changed an entire event forever with a technique that looked crazy at the time but the result made it the standard.”
Former World 200m champion Ato Bolden tweeted, "R.I.P. 1968 Olympic gold medallist and high jump legend/pioneer Dick Fosbury, who passed away on Sunday. Condolences to his family and friends. Godspeed, Fos, from an eternally grateful sport."
USA Track & Field (USTAF), the sport’s US governing body, said, "Our sport lost a true legend and innovator today."
USATF also shared a video where Fosbury discussed his work as a coach, "across the country and across the world, from the very beginning, teaching coaches what the Fosbury Flop was all about, to … working with young high school athletes. “I encourage all athletes to keep an open mind to the possibility that you can inspire a young athlete to become their best, to find their own way in sport. And so thank you, and God bless."
Image credit: Getty