High Jump Pioneer and Icon Fosbury Dies at 76

High Jump Pioneer and Icon Fosbury Dies at 76
Dick Fosbury speaks at U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame Class of 2019 Induction Ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Nov. 1, 2019. Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images for USOPC
Reuters
Updated:

Olympic high jump champion Dick Fosbury, who revolutionized the event with a radically different jumping technique that was eventually named after him, died on Sunday aged 76, his agent Ray Schulte said on Monday.

Fosbury won gold in the high jump at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where he jumped back first to clear the bar, a technique that has since been named the ‘Fosbury Flop’ and used by all high jumpers today.