Thanks to Mike Waters in Corvallis, OR, we were reminded that Dick Fosbury won the Olympic Gold at Mexico City with his revolutionary jumping style, still practiced today by nearly all the world's leading jumpers.
This article in the Corvallis Gazette Times by Anthony Rimel, commemorates the ceremony and unveiling of the statue on the OSU campus honoring Fosbury's incredible display of ingenuity and willingness to go against the grain.
The Flop that Changed the World
"Three Huzzahs for Mr. Fosbury"
the Staff at OUTV
When I first saw Fosbury jump I thought it looked ugly, probably because it was different. So much for my taste and appreciation of inventiveness. I did not know that he was given an ultimatum at Oregon State University to chose between civil engineering and the high jump. Not very smart of OSU because about 20% of our athletes each year at U. of Cincinnati were engineers. I saw him jump the next year at the NCAA in Knoxville and I believe he won. Craig Whitmore and I attended that meet together. At that 1969 NCAA almost all of the stars of the Mexico City Olympics were present since in those days there was no professional T&F so the Olympians were mostly collegians. It was an NCAA like no other. Bill Schnier
Yeah good. A memorable achievement. But we Marathon runners, struggling to complete those final 365 yards on the track, didn't appreciate it at the time!
Best,
Tim
This note is from Tim Johnston (Great Britain) who finished 8th in the Marathon in 2hr 28min 4 sec. There was a Japanese runner just 4 seconds behind him, so it is pretty certain Tim wasn't focusing on the HJ as he was finishing. Ed.
This note is from Tim Johnston (Great Britain) who finished 8th in the Marathon in 2hr 28min 4 sec. There was a Japanese runner just 4 seconds behind him, so it is pretty certain Tim wasn't focusing on the HJ as he was finishing. Ed.
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