Few have impacted athletics as much as Fosbury and his flop

Of all the remarkable figures and statistics associated with the variety of disciplines which are featured in track and field athletics, the most astounding to me is the men’s high jump world record.

Set in 1993 by Cuban legend Javier Sotomayor, the mark of 2.45 metres might not seem particularly remarkable, considering how fast people have run and how far they have jumped and thrown in other events.

But if the high jump bar is set at the world record height and I stand under it with my arms pointing straight up, even if I jump I can’t touch the bar. Every time I’ve done this, it has blown my mind. I can’t even begin to comprehend how anyone can jump that high with no assistance.

Jumping backwards

The only thing crazier than the fact that people can leap that sort of height is that Sotomayor jumped backwards over the bar. In my mind, it seems logical that jumping forwards or sideways would achieve greater heights.

That, however, is clearly not the case, and we’ve known this since the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City when Dick Fosbury won the gold medal with a unique style of jumping that has since become the only technique used in high jump competitions – the fosbury flop.

If you want to see how much of a difference it makes jumping backwards over the bar, all you need to do is watch people trying other styles. In comparison, they are awkward and comical.

Before Fosbury figured this out, athletes would either tumble forwards over the bar or clear it with a sideways scissor kick, before landing on their feet or crashing into a pile of sawdust .

New heights

While many other athletes have made breakthrough changes in their disciplines with new styles and techniques – like Emil Zatopek with his brutal fartlek training and Ed Moses reducing the number of strides between hurdles – few (if any) have been more influential in athletics than Fosbury and his backwards flop. It changed the entire high jump discipline and lifted athletes to new heights which could not have been imagined before.

ALSO READ: High jumper Dick Fosbury has died, aged 76

If you ever want to know how much of a difference Fosbury’s breakthrough technique benefited the high jump discipline, stand under a bar set at 2.45m, raise your arms above your head and jump.

It’s astounding how high people can leap, and we owe it all to Fosbury, the greatest game changer of them all.

May he rest in peace.