Dick Fosbury, 76, Whose ‘Flop’ Transformed the High Jump, Is Dead

Dick Fosbury of Oregon State used his headfirst style in a track meet at Madison Square Garden in 1968 — the same year he won an Olympic gold medal using that technique.Credit...Associated PressDick Fosbury, a gangly civil engineering student who shocked his peers, delighted sports fans and started a revolution in competitive high jumping with his backward leaps, died on Sunday. He was 76.

The cause was lymphoma, a spokesman announced on Instagram. He did not say where Fosbury died.

Fosbury’s claim to fame was a signature jumping style: the “Fosbury Flop.” With a running start at a raised bar, he launched himself back first, seemed to hover for a moment parallel with the ground, and landed…