Olympic gold medalist turned politician Dick Fosbury passed away yesterday after a recurrence of lymphoma. He was 76.
Fosbury won the gold medal in the high jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. He isn't merely remembered for winning the gold medal but the way in which he did it. Using his background as an engineer, Fosbury elevated himself over the bar backward. The technique was coined as the Fosbury Flop and would soon be adopted by nearly all high jumpers at every level of competition. Fosbury changed his sport in a way few others have done with any other sport.
During the height of his fame as an Olympian, Fosbury was an outspoken proponent of civil rights. The Oregon native would eventually settle in neighboring Idaho. At the time of his death, Fosbury was serving his second term as County Commissioner in Blaine County, one of the few Democratic strongholds in Idaho. It would seem that Fosbury never stopped raising the bar. R.I.P.
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