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OUR VALLEY / MOMENTS THAT SHAPED US Fosbury was no flop Medford High grad Dick Fosbury won a gold medal using the high-jump technique he invented Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Apr. 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Apr. 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM --> Dick Fosbury ABOUT THE STORY: The Medford high jumper invented the "Fosbury Flop," which is now the universal style for the sport. His story was written in conjunction with Our Valley,... » Read more X Dick Fosbury ABOUT THE STORY: The Medford high jumper invented the "Fosbury Flop," which is now the universal style for the sport. His story was written in conjunction with Our Valley, a magazine insert in today's paper. The theme is, "Moments that shaped the Rogue Valley." » Social News Dick Fosbury wasn’t out to change the world in 1963, he was just trying to clear an obstacle and remain on the Medford High track and field team. As it turns out, the teenager accomplished both. Faced with an inability to clear the high jump bar using the then-standard straddle approach — or western roll — and limited by his scissor-kick style, Fosbury revolutionized the sport forever by thinking outside the box and creating the now famous “Fosbury Flop.” “He’s an innovator and, to me, he embodies kind of that pioneer Oregon spirit of willingness to do it another way by experimenting and being fearless,” said Piet Voskes, North Medford High track and field coach. The fact that Fosbury hails from Medford only makes it that much more special for those in this area who, like the rest of the world, are still utilizing his back-to-the-bar style. “I think he’s a brilliant man trying something different from everyone else,” said South Medford senior Josh Washington, who is one of the state's leading high jumpers with a mark of 6 feet, 7½ inches. “It’s a great feeling just to know that we have something so special that somebody made from this place. To know that it’s being used all over the world and came from here, that’s really special.” Fosbury, a 1965 Medford High graduate, went on to excel in the high jump at Oregon State University and, in 1968, put his “Fosbury Flop” in the national spotlight when he won the gold medal and set the Olympic record by clearing 7-4¼ in Mexico City. “Once I took off and was in the air,” Fosbury — who is president of Galena Engineering in Ketchum, Idaho — said in a 2012 Team USA interview, “I could feel the space between my body and the bar and I knew I’d made it. That was the highest I’d ever jumped in my life, the entire stadium had erupted and it was a great, great moment for me. I’ll never forget it.” Earning a gold medal in the high jump seemed a near impossibility only a handful of years before his historic liftoff. In his sophomore year at Medford High, Fosbury failed to complete jumps of 5 feet, which was the qualifying height for many high school track meets. He couldn’t find the rhythm to pull off the straddle technique and his high school coaches warned him his preferred scissors style — where you kick one leg over the bar and then the other and land on your feet — would only take him so far. “My assignment was to get over that damn bar,” Fosbury said in an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on athletic pioneers. “I was bound and determined not to quit, but I had to do something different. I didn’t know how I was going to do it until I left the ground.” Fortunately for Fosbury, he had a few things going in his favor. A change in rules meant high jumpers no longer had to land on their feet, as they often jumped into sawdust or sand or wood chip piles. In his junior season, Medford High was on the forefront of technology by incorporating an increasingly popular foam landing pad. Still, Fosbury had to come up with something, because he was the self-proclaimed worst high jumper at his high school and possibly in the state of Oregon. Clenching his fists to remove stress and get him energized for his leap, Fosbury took a curved path toward the bar from the left side before propelling his arched back over it off his right foot. While facing away from the bar — something that had never been done before — Fosbury then kicked his legs up to “flop” over the bar. He worked on the unconventional style throughout his sophomore year, with better results than ever before, and finally unveiled it toward the end of the season at the Grants Pass Rotary meet. “I’ve looked at some of the old films that my father took … it was not graceful,” Fosbury said during an OSU retrospective on his career, “because I was in this search mode.” The technique gained the name the “Fosbury Flop” when in 1964 the Mail Tribune ran a photo captioned “Fosbury Flops Over Bar,” while the accompanying article said he looked “like a fish flopping in a boat.” Although unconventional, Fosbury’s approach to the high jump gained more acceptance after the 1968 Olympics and, four years later, 28 of the 40 competitors used Fosbury’s technique. Of the 36 Olympic medalists in the event from 1972 through 2000, 34 used “the Flop.” “To me, the invention of the ‘Fosbury Flop’ is as significant to the history of track and field as the fiberglass vaulting pole and rubberized track-and-field surfaces,” said three-time world record holder Dwight Stones in the OSU retrospective. Over the years, the Fosbury Flop has been refined here and there to achieve greater heights and is the standard in the sport. “I’ve seen some of the (straddle technique), and it just amazes me how people developed into that instead of the Fosbury,” said Washington. “I probably wouldn’t even be able to do that it’s so awkward.” Voskes uses the innovative spirit of Fosbury as a lesson plan for his eighth-grade social studies students every year. “It’s a fantastic tool to use in the classroom to talk to kids about what Medford has to offer in terms of innovation,” said Voskes. “I think there’s a lesson outside of just athletics on thinking uniquely and how you can take a difficult situation and find a solution if you’re willing to try new things.” “I want kids to have an appreciation of the lineage and history of the city and our roots,” added Voskes. “Dick Fosbury did have an impact in athletics, but I think it’s bigger than that and a lesson kids can learn from his innovation. To me it’s no different than what guys like Bill Gates were doing in their garage. Dick Fosbury’s garage just happened to be a track.” Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry . By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Apr. 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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