On this day, a revolution in athletics took place at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics

In track and field, the 1968 Mexico City Olympics are best remembered for American Bob Beamon's 8.90m long jump. Previously, the world record had been added to by centimeters, but Beamon's jump was 55 cm beyond that mark.

Compared to this "leap into space," as journalists immediately dubbed it, Dick Fosbury's victory in the high jump seemed more exotic, with his novel method of clearing the bar with his back to it. Furthermore, his result was 4 cm below the world record, which he tried but failed to break.

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However, at the next Olympics in 1972, 28 of the 40 high jumpers used the "Fosbury Flop" technique, and in 1980, 13 of the 16 finalists used it. Nowadays, almost all athletes jump this way, including our champion and record-holder, Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh.

What's doubly interesting here is that the "Fosbury Flop" wasn't born in some "sports lab," but was Fosbury's own invention. It should be noted, however, that this technique only became possible after the landing pit was filled with foam mats instead of sand—otherwise, an athlete landing on their back would have simply broken their vertebrae.

And one more detail: sports historians now note that some jumpers demonstrated something similar to the "Fosbury Flop" even before him. However, it was Dick Fosbury who perfected it and achieved outstanding athletic results, so the jump was rightfully named after him.

Incidentally, Fosbury's athletic career after his victory in Mexico City was short-lived. He didn't even make the team for the 1972 Munich Olympics, retired from sports, bred horses, worked as a sports official, and ended his business career as an engineer. However, his personal life was quite turbulent: three marriages and, correspondingly, two divorces. Fosbury died in 2023 at the age of 76.

Photo: Wikipedia