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The Flop show
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The acceptance and practice of the `Flop' technique by present generation of jumpers is a tribute to its inventor, Dick Fosbury, writes ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA
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YET ANOTHER edition of the Olympic Games, which are widely regarded as the greatest sports show on earth will get underway at Athens within a few weeks. Ever since the Olympics were revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the Games have become one of the most significant international arenas for sportspersons to display their determination, skills, strength and stamina, honed and perfected with single minded dedication over years of hard work and practice.
The Olympics have also frequently thrown up stunning surprises and upsets. Some sportspersons have made a far reaching and long lasting impact in their respective disciplines with their original thinking, unconventional approach, willingness to experiment and their confidence and self belief which have enabled them to bring about a revolution in their sport and push the frontiers farther, thereby living up to the Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger."
One such athlete, who set a new trend and dramatically changed the concepts of high jumping which were in existence, was Dick Fosbury. Born in 1947 in Portland, Oregon, USA, he invented the "flop" technique of high jumping, which not only fetched him a gold medal, but also enabled the world record to be pushed higher and higher by champions who came after him.
In his high school years the tall and lanky Fosbury was an average level jumper who used the straddle and roll style, which (along with the scissors method) was the widely accepted technique in those days without creating any waves. But Fosbury was not the type of person to be satisfied with modest performances. Moreover he was a thinker who was always ready to question the relevance of existing systems and to try out something new.
When exactly the idea of the "flop" technique came to his mind is unknown but once he became convinced that he was on the right track he bravely disregarded the advice of many of his coaches and stuck to his guns. It required a lot of guts to break from the traditions and proceed against the thinking of the experts of those days.
In the 1960s when he was in college he worked hard at practicing and perfecting the unusual method of clearing the bar. Basically the technique involved approaching the bar from an angle, twisting the body after take off so that the back is turned to the bar and then leaping into the air to eventually cross the bar on one's back before flopping down to the mat on the other side - flat on the back.
In those days, jumpers and their coaches and the fans who were used to seeing competitors using the much simpler and easier techniques, felt that the new method was awkward, complicated and unnatural. One coach even remarked that if youngsters adopted this new method, then an entire generation of jumpers would be wiped out since most of them would end up breaking their necks or injuring their spines.
But undeterred by jibes and criticism Fosbury went ahead with his new technique and his rapid success enabled him to improve his best mark from 2.10 metres to 2.19 metres in matter of months.
It was in 1968 at the Olympic Games at Mexico that Fosbury put his method on show before the whole world and his stunning gold medal winning success in the face of a very strong challenge by the best jumpers of the day, finally silenced all his critics. The Mexico Olympics produced some of the most remarkable moments in the history of the Olympics such as Bob Beamon's huge 8.90 metre long jump, Lee Evans record shattering one lap run, Al Oerter's unprecedented fourth gold in the discuss throw, and even the political statements sought to be made by the protests of the 200 mts medal winners Tommie Smith and John Carlos.
But the unveiling of the "Flop" method before a worldwide audience created a huge effect. It was the media, which termed the new method as the "Fosbury Flop". The inventor of this method, the unassuming Dick Fosbury, remained unfazed by all the publicity and adulation that his feat evoked. He continued to compete for a few years more but gradually faded into obscurity leaving behind his legacy which since then has been adhered to with great commitment by several generations of champion jumpers who have come after him.
Being rather unathletic in build and appearance, the tall, lanky and sometimes ungainly Dick Fosbury, became, for that very reason, an inspiration to many people who were not gifted by nature with the right physique but who nevertheless had a great desire to become champion athletes.
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