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 legendsaid his agent Ray Schulte.
“Flop” start with Olympic gold and a 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.