Status: 03/14/2023 08:34 a.m
Athletics mourns the loss of one of its great stars. Dick Fosbury has died of lymph node cancer at the age of 76. Following his example, high jumpers have crossed the bar since 1968.
Fosbury’s cancer was first diagnosed in April 2008, but has been considered cured since 2009. “It is with a heavy heart that I have to report that my longtime friend Dick Fosbury passed away peacefully on Sunday morning. He was a true legend,” said his agent Ray Schulte.
“Flop” start with Olympic gold and record
Richard Douglas “Dick” Fosbury turned the sports world upside down in Mexico City on October 20, 1968: gold in the high jump, with an Olympic record of 2.24 meters – after the 21-year-old’s performance, nothing should be the same in his sport as before.
Previously, the straddle style, in which athletes cross the bar on their stomachs, was standard. After that, the “Fosbury flop” became the dominant jumping style.
IOC President Thomas Bach: Revolutionary of a sport
IOC President Thomas Bach recognized him as a revolutionary in his sport. “Dick Fosbury made unforgettable Olympic history by revolutionizing the high jump at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. The games were never the same after he won the gold medal by ‘flopping’ the bar,” said the head of the International Olympic Committees.
“Dick Fosbury has always been true to Olympic values and served the Olympic movement in a number of capacities. He will forever be remembered as an Olympic champion of excellence. Our thoughts are with his family and friends,” said Bach.
Source: sportschau.de