High jump legend Dick Fosbury has passed away

Turning his back on conventions and his bars that he wants to cross at all costs. With his groundbreaking technique, Dick Fosbury soars higher than his competitors. 2 meters 24, Olympic record as a bonus, for this 21-year-old American student, only in the world, at the time of the Mexico City (Mexico) Olympics in 1968, to jump on his back. Other athletes prefer to wrap the bar or scissor it. At first mocked for his unconventional style, Fosbury was soon imitated by other athletes, even the Soviets.

athlete and engineer

Alexandre Boyon, sports journalist, explains: “The Soviets belly-jumped and were Olympic champions in 60 and 64. Fosbury comes along, invents his technique, and suddenly everyone starts this technique, except the Soviets. […] It will last until the end of the 70s and since the beginning of the 80s everyone is jumping like this.Fosbury finished his career in ’72 to take his engineering degree. Rarely has an athlete’s name been so associated with his discipline. He died on Sunday, March 12 at the age of 76. , but his legacy lives on.