Olympic gold medal high jumper Fosbury dies aged 76

Dick Fosbury, the lanky leaper who revamped the technical discipline of high jump and won an Olympic gold medal with his Fosbury Flop, has passed away aged 76.

Fosbury died Sunday after a recurrence with lymphoma, according to his publicist, Ray Schulte.

At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Fosbury took off at an angle, leaped backward, bent himself into a J shape to catapult his 6-foot-4 frame over the bar, then crashed headfirst into the landing pit.

It was a convention-defying move, and with the world watching, Fosbury cleared 2.24 meters (7 feet, 4 1/4 inches) to win the gold and set an Olympic record. By the next Olympics, 28 of the 40 jumpers were using Fosbury's technique.

The Montreal Games in 1976 marked the last Olympics in which a high jumper won using a technique other than the Fosbury Flop.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar backs this wicketkeeper in Team India playing XI in WTC Final