High jump legend Dick Fosbury has passed away at the age of 76. The American had revolutionized his discipline by perfecting the back roll jump. He notably won gold at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Dick Fosbury passed away peacefully in his sleep early Sunday morning after a brief recurrence of lymphoma.”wrote his agent Ray Schulte.
Fosbury had been the first to popularize and perfect the back roll jump in international competitions. Previously, athletes jumped with the scissor method. In Mexico, he had won the Olympic title by crossing 2m24.
Before his Olympic title conquered in Mexico, he had aroused much criticism and ridicule from coaches and observers. His legacy remains palpable more than 50 years later.
“I didn’t know anyone else in the world could use (this technique) and I never imagined that it would revolutionize the discipline”confided the man who failed to qualify for the Munich Games (1972), after having had to put his sports career on hold for his studies in civil engineering.
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