Dick 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 approximately on the back of his neck.
The technique has been compared to a corpse being pushed out of a window.