Dick Fosbury, byname of Richard Douglas Fosbury, (born March 6, 1947, Portland, Oregon, U.S. died March 12, 2023), American high jumper who revolutionized the sport by replacing the traditional approach to jumping with an innovative backward style that became known as the “Fosbury flop.” Fosbury found the straddle-roll jumping style complicated and did not perform well when he employed it during high school competition. He began to develop his backward flop style at age 16 and found it effective. When he began to compete for Oregon State University’s track-and-field team, however, his coach discouraged his use of the unorthodox method. After