During the 1968 Olympic games, right in front of a crowd of 80,000 people—an unknown athlete—Dick Fosbury, prepared to complete his first attempt at the high jump event. Up untill that day, Fosbury had a very average athletic track record.
As a teenager, he failed to break into his high school basketball team, despite his towering height of 6 feet 4 inches. Fosbury literally ‘flopped’ at his attempts at various disciplines within athletics. Eventually, he settled with the high jump event because it was the best of his athletic flops. Even so, Fosbury didn’t reach the qualifying heights of his local club in his first attempts.
Fosbury knew that he had little chance of competing with the top athletes using these techniques. He had to innovate to give him any chance of competing at the highest level. Instead of jumping face forward using the conventional “straddle” technique, Fosbury jumped off the “wrong foot”, arched his back and cleared the bar backwards. Fosbury received heavy criticism for his unconventional jumping technique. A local newspaper even called him the “World’s Laziest High Jumper.” But, this criticism didn’t stop Dick Fosbury from perfecting his new Fosbury “flop” technique, which soon paid off.
He won the Gold at 1968 Olympics and never competed gain in the Olympics.
Fosbury flop is the default technique used by athletes for high jump ever since.
Legacy :
Even though the technique is named after Fosbury, there are other athletes and contemporaries who were using this technique during the same time as Mr. Fosbury. M
s.Debbie Brill was a Canadian athlete who was developed the technique as a child.
Below is the only available image of Mr. Quande who used this technique during 1963.
These athletes were not aware of each other and developed the technique without collaboration. This very fact also proves the point that innovation is not a monopoly and as democratic as it can be. Not everyone might see the success , but can be the best version of themselves through innovation.