Fosbury Flop, The Technique that Revolutionised the High Jump
A Quick Look on the Athletics Discipline, High Jump
An athletics discipline since the 1896 Games, there are several high-jump techniques: scissors, western roll and straddle. All attack the bar from the side or face on and use the inner foot to take off.
Conversely, in the Fosbury flop, the athlete runs up in a curve, jumps by taking off from his outer foot and twists his body to clear the bar with his back. He finishes the movement by lifting his legs over the bar and landing on a mattress.
The back-first jump offers many improvements compared to traditional techniques: the curved run-up allows the high-jumper to reach the bar with more speed and to do a more powerful jump. The body arches over the bar and the centre of gravity is underneath, which is an indisputable mechanical advantage.
Richard Fosbury, the athlete that introduced the technique, celebrated his 60th birthday yesterday (that’s why we look back to his achievements as an Olympian).
This memorable event happened during the 1968 Olympic Games held in Mexico City, the first Games organised in Latin America. It is also the first to have athletes tested for drugs and “first Games to take place at an altitude of 2,300 metres: an advantage for disciplines requiring short but intense efforts like high-jumping.”
This paved a way for Fosbury to clear each jump and then set an Olympic record with 2.24 metres. He won the gold even when his jump did not please the judges due to his unusual angle of attack.
Source: olympics.org
Tags: Athletics, High Jump, Light the Torch, Mexico 1968, Olympians, OlympicsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Athletics, Light the Torch, Olympians
2 opinions for Fosbury Flop, The Technique that Revolutionised the High Jump
Matthew Hall
Dec 12, 2007 at 7:15 pm
I think that the Fosbury Flop is a great Technique in the Olimpics
clinton OZ
Jan 17, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Edit: the scissors technique (and the modified form known as Eastern Cut-Off) both require the jumper to take off from his outside leg
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