Fansided

The greatest Olympic athlete from every U.S. state

By Adam Strangis

16th October 1964: Alfred A Oerter, American winner of the Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics 1964 for Discus throwing. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
16th October 1964: Alfred A Oerter, American winner of the Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics 1964 for Discus throwing. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) /
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(Original Caption) U.S. Olympic Champion high jumper Dick Fosbury of Oregon State appears to be perched on the cross bar as he goes over in his unorthodox backward jump style, in the 44th knights of Columbus Track Meet in Boston, January 10. Fosbury was upset by Ron Jourdan of the University of Florida, who the event with a jump of 6 feet, 10 inches.
(Original Caption) U.S. Olympic Champion high jumper Dick Fosbury of Oregon State appears to be perched on the cross bar as he goes over in his unorthodox backward jump style, in the 44th knights of Columbus Track Meet in Boston, January 10. Fosbury was upset by Ron Jourdan of the University of Florida, who the event with a jump of 6 feet, 10 inches. /

Oregon: Dick Fosbury

Sport: High Jump

Olympics: Mexico City 1968

Looking at strictly the medal count or the amount of Olympics that Dick Fosbury has to his name, there’s nothing spectacular that stands out. Digging deeper, Fosbury is actually one of the most influential track and field athletes that the United States has ever seen. He is credited with a complete revolution of his sport, the high jump.

The rules for the high jump state that an athlete can only jump off of one foot at takeoff. It doesn’t matter how the said athlete clears the bar after that and that’s all the leeway that Fosbury needed to change his sport. During his time at Medford High School, Fosbury wasn’t able to clear the minimum five-foot bar that is required to compete. Most high jumpers used the same technique which involved jumping over the bar face first and then bringing each leg over the bar individually. Since Fosbury was unable to coordinate all of these movements, he developed the technique that is still in use by many jumpers today. He went over the bar with his back facing the ground and wrapped his body around the bar without touching it. When Fosbury got to the 1968 Games, nobody had ever really seen this technique and it enthralled the fans. He took home the gold and set an Olympic record in the process. In the 1980 Games, 13 of the 16 finalists used the “Fosbury Flop” technique.

Fosbury gets the credit for developing the “Fosbury Flop” but there was another gentleman from Montana who was photographed doing the same technique in 1963. Even though Bruce Quande may have been the first person to flop, Fosbury was the first to flop in a competition setting. His technique is still the dominant technique in high jumping today.

Honorable Mention: Bill Johnson, alpine skiing in Sarajevo 1984

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