# Track & Field World's reaction to Fosbury Flop? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** olympic-sports-track\ **Created:** [July 28, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300 "2017-07-28T01:39:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/1 "2017-07-28T01:39:02Z")
At the 1968 Olympics, Dan Fosbury shocked the world by winning the High Jump gold metal using a very unorthodox way of jumping. Was the Olympic committee and the judges “ready” for this kind of jump? Did other competitors or their coaches in the event protest and claim that the method Fosbury used to clear the bar was somehow illegal? What was the reaction of the TV commentators broadcasting the event? I know he wasn’t the first to use the “flop” in the high jump and its true that the reason one could try to clear the bar was because thick, heavy pads were invented for the pit to break ones fall (prior to this Olympics, sand was the only padding in the pit,) but he must have caused quite a stir when he went over that bar for the first time in front of millions of TV viewers. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/2 "2017-07-28T02:18:42Z")
4 years later, at the Munich Olympics, 28 of 40 competitors used the flop. Since then, it’s been rare for a high-jumper to win a medal using another technique. I don’t believe anyone considered it “cheating”, but he was criticized for the appearance of the maneuver, with newspapers of the time saying he looked like “a fish flopping on a boat” or “the world’s laziest jumper”. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/3 "2017-07-28T02:23:53Z")
My memory says that it was made illegal for a while after that Olympics, but the Wikipedia article doesn’t mention that. Perhaps it’s just that some people wanted to make it illegal. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/4 "2017-07-28T02:31:10Z")
It was utterly bizarre looking at the time, but no one suggested it was against the rules. Fosbury had jumped that way before the Olympic trials, so people knew of it. There was some grumping from purists, of course. I recall someone saying it was dangerous to the jumper to fall backwards onto the cushion. His argument was laughed at when it was pointed out pole vaulters had been doing that same thing For years – and from twice the height. It was amazing watching Fosbury back then. It was so unusual that it was hard to comprehend what he was doing. What I remember most was what he did just before he started his jump. He would stand completely still, concentrating, and slowly clenching and unclenching his fists before he took off. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/5 "2017-07-28T02:32:12Z")
I was only 11 years old at the time but I remember the discussion. I don’t recall any accusations that it illegal but certainly unorthodox. And nothing succeeds like success. It was a little like the “granny” foul shot in basketball, which was seen as “wrong” even though at least one player was very successful with it, and the geometry behind it is superior to the overhand shot–but unlike the Flop, it never caught on. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/6 "2017-07-28T02:41:47Z")
My memory may be thinking of an earlier jumper named Browning, who in the 50s, did a somersault high jump. That apparently was declared illegal. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/7 "2017-07-28T02:47:55Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > My memory may be thinking of an earlier jumper named Browning, who in the 50s, did a somersault high jump. That apparently was declared illegal. When I was in high school track, we were always told it was a somersault \*long \*jump that was illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/8 "2017-07-28T04:07:59Z")
Moved to the Game Room. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/9 "2017-07-28T04:16:06Z")
I read somewhere that Babe Didrikson Zaharias tried to do that a few decades earlier, and got the kibosh put on that right away. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/10 "2017-07-28T13:41:18Z")
A bit before my time, but I was recently reading about the somersault long jump and references to the flop came up. The somersault long jump was ruled illegal as it was deemed dangerous. From what I read, there was also talk that the flop may be ruled illegal as it was deemed dangerous. They eventually determined that the flop was not dangerous, though, so it remained legal. It should be noted that the landing pit for the high jump at the 1964 Olympics was fluffed up sawdust. Trying to flop and land on your back in fluffed up sawdust would most likely cause massive injuries. The introduction of foam landing pads made the flop possible in the mid-60s. And his name is Dick Fosbury. ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/11 "2017-07-29T09:12:05Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > It should be noted that the landing pit for the high jump at the 1964 Olympics was fluffed up sawdust. Trying to flop and land on your back in fluffed up sawdust would most likely cause massive injuries. The introduction of foam landing pads made the flop possible in the mid-60s. I’m wondering if they have the same thing for the pole vault… These days they land on the mat on their back, so I’m wondering if there was a change in technique here as well around the same time. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/12 "2017-07-29T13:48:27Z")
> [@Dahu](#): > > I’m wondering if they have the same thing for the pole vault… These days they land on the mat on their back, so I’m wondering if there was a change in technique here as well around the same time. Fiberglass poles came in the 50&60s which allowed greater heights. Photo from 64 showing the [old sawdust pits.](http://vaultermagazine.com/evolution-of-the-pole-vault/)(about half way down) > [@](#): > > While steel and aluminum poles made a brief appearance in the world of pole vaulting in the 1950s and 60s, the next major advancement in pole technology came in the form of fiber-glass and carbon-fiber poles. A cross-section of the design of these poles can be seen in Fig. 7, which shows the different layers that allow the fiberglass pole to be so versatile and effective. The poles were first introduced in the U.S. in 1956, and immediately made an impact on achievable heights, evidenced by the new world record set in 1961 at 4.83 meters > > As technology enabled higher vaults, mats evolved into bags of large chunks of foam. Today’s high-tech mats are foam usually 1–1.5 meters (3 ft 3 in–4 ft 10 in) thick. Mats are growing larger in area as well to minimize risk of injury. Proper landing technique is on the back or shoulders. Landing on the feet should be avoided, to eliminate the risk of injury to the lower extremities, particularly ankle sprains. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/13 "2017-07-30T04:41:53Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > When I was in high school track, we were always told it was a somersault \*long \*jump that was illegal. There’s a very simple reason the somersault long jump is illegal. People would die and/or paralyse themselves regularly in training if it was legal. Just far too dangerous. Some Uni types did some study and worked out that it probably was a more efficient mode of jumping, and likely to lead to further distance (in long jump all that ‘running in mid-air’ is to stop the natural forward rotation of the body following a jump). So instead of stopping the rotation via a slightly awkward take-off technique, just go with it and complete a full rotation. [Requisite you tube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ6ySgqjONI) with some interesting comments. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/14 "2017-07-30T07:45:24Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > And his name is Dick Fosbury. I guess we should be thankful the maneuver wasn’t called the **Dick Flop.** ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/15 "2023-03-14T00:42:55Z")
> **['Fosbury Flop' high jumper Dick Fosbury dies at 76](https://apnews.com/article/fosbury-flop-death-high-jump-eb1dee13fb2fec4072b9955545466d86)** > > Dick Fosbury, the lanky leaper who revamped the technical discipline of high jump and won an Olympic gold medal with his “Fosbury Flop,” has died. He was 76. Fosbury died Sunday after a recurrence with lymphoma, according to his publicist, Ray... ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/16 "2023-03-14T00:48:06Z")
So, all the people that said it was dangerous were right. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/track-field-worlds-reaction-to-fosbury-flop/792300/17 "2023-03-14T19:37:17Z")
There aren’t many athletes alive today that revolutionized their sport, but Dick Fosbury sure did in 1968 when many people saw his unique jumping style in the Olympics. Prior to that, not many people knew of it.