#36: Going Against the Grain

Dick Fosbury is 16 and desperate to make the high school athletics team, but despite standing well over 6ft he can’t clear a modest height of 1.5m to qualify for the local Oregon high jump competition. 

After a recent growth spurt, his gangly legs just won’t cooperate, and Dick can’t get the timing down for the straddle technique that his competitors all use. Basically, in the straddle you lead with one leg first and whilst facing down you twist over the bar mid-air. Watch

Exasperated and determined to get on the team, Dick starts to experiment with different methods. The only rule in high jump requires you to take off from one foot and Dick initially tries an older scissors technique, where you run forward and scissor kick over the bar. This was slightly more effective, even if it looked rather odd. 

He kept experimenting. 

By senior year in 1964, Dick started to jump over the bar backwards, head-first, arching his body over the bar and kicking his feet right at the end. This felt a lot more natural and was leading to higher jumps. It also helped that his high school had replaced the wood chip pit for a foam mat allowing him to land on his back safely.

The coaches and media were not impressed. One local newspaper captions a photo of Dick as the “World’s laziest high jumper!”. Another noted that he looks like “a fish flopping in a boat”. Dick persevered with his flop and took it to college. 

His new coach was unconvinced and wanted Dick to keep practising the straddle. That was until Dick smashed the school record with 2.08m. His coach got on board and started filming the new method himself.

Dick evolved his technique to include a curved J-shaped run and he started to garner national attention in athletics. At the 1968 Olympic trials he snagged one of the 3 spots on the American team. 

Later that summer in Mexico City, at just 21, Dick leapt 2.24m to win Gold at the Olympics. By the 1972 Olympics 70% of competitors were using his technique and since the mid-80s it’s been used by all elite high jumpers. Watch Dick Take Off!

His flop had become a success!

WISDOM 💎

‘I was told over and over again that I would never be successful, that I was not going to be competitive, and the technique was simply not going to work. All I could do was shrug and say, ‘We’ll just have to see.”’

Dick Fosbury

Tip 1 - A SMART PLAY ✅

Dick took advantage of new conditions, namely the foam landing mat, to introduce a better method. Also notice how the technique evolved – first from the scissor kick to a backwards leap, then incorporating a curved run up. Big jumps forward often involve many small steps.

Tip 2 - AVOID 🚩

Giving up just because everyone is telling you your crazy. People generally do not welcome change. In fact, they often find it abhorrent.

Tip 3 - ACTION 💪

What new conditions can you take advantage of in your work or life? Perhaps get inquisitive with how A.I. or other technological advancements might help you.