RIP Dick Fosbury

Its insane that in 53 years of technology, training, advancements that the gold medal winning time is only 0.4 seconds better than what the 1968 team did.

 

I would guess imperfect handoff techniques can wipe out all that other stuff. Don't know how often these teams actually train that discipline.

That 1968 record actually was equalled in 1988 in Seoul. Then it was beaten in 1992 (2:55.74) and again in 1993 (2:54.29).

Current record (2:54.20) is almost 25 years old.

 

Handoff techniques? They spend GOBS of time practicing that.

 

I'm pretty sure that the overwhelming number of US men's handoff failures over the last three decades belong to the 4x100 teams, not the 4x400 teams.

 

Humans have been trying to jump over high obstacles for, well, millions of years; it's kind of amazing that in the late 1960s, somebody figured out a completely new way to do it. It'd be like all of a sudden somebody figured out how to throw a 140-mph fastball.

Which, of course, leads to this:

How Tuariki Delamere’s somersault turned the sport of long jump on its head

 

For a few of those millions of years, there weren’t pads on the other side of the obstacle.

 

That's a great story I'd never heard of. Thanks.

 

Ken Goe, formerly of the Oregonian, is one of the premier T & F writers in the country. Here is his story on Foz in today's O:

https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/...vUgG4pMC9-grQ0umBdOc9VaAbSjTm4ytOwaMM5meNxh4I

 

My dad, who was 6-3 and 175 in high school, cleared 5-2 in the high jump in 1942 using the then-common scissors style (in which you go over the bar in a sitting position). He assured me he had won some meets clearing heights like 4-8 and 4-10.

In 1973-75, I was in high school, 5-7 and about 180, and I set up a high jump area in the back yard using two foam rubber futon mattresses for pads.

Just dicking around in the backyard using the Western straddle and yes, the Fosbury Flop, I managed to scrape over at 5-0. The bar wiggled but stayed on. I edged it up to 5-2, no good. Five feet even was my limit.

In my high school class we had six guys who could clear 6-4 or better in the high jump, including two who went 6-8 and 6-10 in the state meet, so I wasn't tempted to start bragging about my high jump prowess.

Anyway Dad came back in the backyard, said, "hey, whatcha doing," and quickly enough at age 48-49, said "let me give it a try."

He cleared 4-8 fast enough, basically he just kinda stepped over. But no higher; he started coming down across the bar.

"We never had any lahh dee dahh foam rubber mattresses in my day," he offered. "We used the scissors style mainly because we wanted to land on our feet in the sand pit."

He watched me try both the newfangled styles.
Within about 20 minutes and maybe 10 attempts, he cleared 5-8 going over Fosbury style. "If only I could have figured this out 30 years ago," he said.

He said in 1942, 5-8 would have probably placed at the state meet, if not won it.

 

Good tale.

I never fail to be surprised when 5-6 or 5-8 wins some high school dual meets. You would think a school today would have a six-foot high jumper somewhere. Last spring was an outlier for my alma mater, but they had three high jumpers going 6-4, 6-5, and 7-0 (state champ).

The state champ, by the way, was a vo-tech kid who never had any college aspirations ... so he bailed out of a summer remedial program and never enrolled. We'll probably never see him compete again.

 

I was friendly with the kid who was by far the most natural athlete in our class. Was a great basketball player and was always in the agate section for scoring 20+ in the teen leagues hosted at the Armory, but never tried out for the high school team. Went out for spring track for shits and giggles as a sophomore and won the league title in the 800 the next three years. Finished in the top 10 in the state one year. I've still never seen a finishing kick like his. He could be in the middle of the pack with 200 meters to go before he arched his back ever so slightly and hit a gear I could never dream of hitting. Used to see him just effortlessly surge past people on the final turn. It infuriated me b/c I pretty much sucked at running and I did it year-round. Anyway, he was in the college prep track but had no interest in going to college, so he got a job after graduation and I haven't seen him since we went to a Van Halen concert the fall after graduation.

As for high jumping, I always liked fucking around with it after practice and wanted to try it in a meet, but my coaches were convinced I was better suited to running (apparently they didn't watch me run). Our league held a JV meet the spring of my junior year and my coach, who wasn't even interested in going to the meet (our assistant went), said, sure, let BYH try the high jump. I won the fucking thing. I want to say I cleared 6-feet, but that might be my memory playing tricks on me. Regardless, it still felt pretty good. And I quit on top...somehow didn't do the high jump in indoor track as a senior and I didn't bother running track in the spring, even though I would have been a four-year member of the team. Pretty sure the medal is still on the dresser in my bedroom at my Dad's house. (I didn't have many achievements to brag about )

 

Around my area we have girls clearing 6-0 on the regular. This is a track hotbed. Some of the open quarter times already this year have been ridiculous.