Dick Fosbury - the man who revolutionised the high jump in athletics - has died at the age of 76.
At the Games Fosbury set a then record of 2.24 metres using his method.
Dick Fosbury - the man who revolutionised the high jump in athletics - has died at the age of 76.
In reply to Chrissy
For some fellas it was way before last Sunday
The Flop
In reply to Chrissy
RIP
legend
The man that made the scissors obsolete!
The two names that will live in track & field perpetuity are Fosbury and Beamon (Beamonesque).
In reply to JoeGrine
Yep
In reply to JoeGrine
My early years in high school, mid 70s, I read about the two world beaters!
May his soul RIP!
In reply to Chrissy
Wow, how did I miss that? What an innovator, can never forget the day a batchmate (high school) 'Flopped 6ft. He had been secretly practicing the new innovation and 'buss it pon wi' one evening. Man Pandemonium on the sports field.
In reply to StumpCam
Both men part of what is considered (rightly) the greatest Olympic track & field team ever 1968!
Try flopping without a foam mat (which only became commercially available in the 1960s) and see how you get on.
In reply to JoeGrine
think Ja set a world record in the 4 by 100 heat,only for US to beat it in the final!
In reply to camos
Actually, Jamaica equaled the record in the heat (38.6) then broke it in the semis only to finish 4th in the finals.
In reply to JoeGrine
got you, memory not as sharp as it used to be!
In reply to JoeGrine
Because of injuries the best quartet wasn't available I think,
But, breaking and setting WR thrice in one meet is inconcievable
so I doubt we'd have beaten that great US team that broke our semi-final
record
In reply to Brerzerk
We will never know, however, the Rum Shop is where we speculate. Remember the USA ran their absolute best team. Jamaica on the other hand ran a make-shift team:
1) Stewart - a XLCR schoolboy ran lead-off instead of Donald Quarrie (himself a C'Down schoolboy)
2) Fray - ran the leg he was slated for
3) Forbes - a 400m man ran for Lawson
4) Miller - ran the leg he was slated for
despite the changes we equaled (heats) then broke (semis) the record. The make-shift nature of the team showed up in the finals when the Forbes exchanges were somewhat mishandled. At full strength, we are at worse finishing second and I would not have been surprised with a win.