This document discusses the evolution of the Fosbury Flop technique in high jumping. It describes how Dick Fosbury developed an unconventional backwards jumping style in the 1960s that allowed him to break records and win gold at the 1968 Olympics, despite initial skepticism. Fosbury experimented with adapting older jumping styles until he found his own technique, which has since become the standard approach in high jumping. The document encourages embracing new ideas even if they seem strange or face criticism, as Fosbury's innovation changed the sport despite early doubts.

1. Leap
of
faith

2. Guilherme Paulovic
guilherme@paulovic.org
paulovic.org

3. The question
sometimes is
the question.?

4. Have you ever tried high
jump?
Image credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/george_eastman_house/3333249917/

5. Image credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBtBdNHBNSI

6. Image credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBtBdNHBNSI

7. It seems to be not so
easy.And in fact, it is not.

8. Let’s watch a
video.
Image credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/3002426059/

9. Indeed, at the1968
Olympics in Mexico it
was the first time ever
someone jumped in that
fashion.

10. Mind-blowing, huh?
That’s weird.

11. Can you imagine how it
had been before?

12. In the beginning it was
STRADDLE, SCISSORS
etc etc ...

13. Let’s
watch
another
video.
Image credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/3002426059/

14. Image credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/7627979920/
Straddle.

15. Image credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/national_library_of_australia_commons/7673975586/
Scissors.

16. Old-fashioned.
Blame it on
Dick Fosbury.

17. Dick Fosbury
“Fearless Fosbury is a 21-year-
old senior at Oregon State
University with a major in civil
engineering, two bad feet, a
worn-out body, an unbelievable
style of high-jumping head first
on his back, a habit of talking to
himself in midair (...)” - NY
Times, Oct 20th, 1968.

18. In the 1960s he was an
unremarkable (kid)
athlete who preferred
the scissors jumping
style.

19. His coach would force
him to use the then-
popular straddle
technique.

20. He couldn’t have jumped
more than 1.62m.

21. Then, when he was 16
he started scissoring
again and he cleared
1.77m.

22. He adapted the scissors
style with a twist at the
last moment before
jumping.

23. This way he jumped
2.0m and won a national
junior championship.

24. He got it right and
headed to Olympics in
Mexico City.

25. A crowded stadium,
quiet spectators and an
awkward movement.

26. The rest is history.

28. Experts said he’d break
his neck, but...

29. But he broke the
Olympic record and won
gold jumping 2.24m.

30. Anyway, it was strange.
Really strange.

31. Fosbury evolved his
technique based on
other ones he was used
to.

32. He used a
different
lens.
Image credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaalarchief/4192749083

33. There was no “eureka”
moment. It took time
and a series of errors
and attempts.

34. So that he could jump
graciously.

35. Sometimes we have
crazy ideas, awkward
thoughts and we’re the
only ones who believe
on it.

36. We are told to be
wrong, and we
sometimes are.

37. But to those genuine
things that blossom in
our thoughts.

38. We’d better experiment
and refine it.

39. Fosbury Flop has
changed the sport
despite skepticism from
coaches and judges.

40. We should jump on our
crazy ideas too.

41. That’s it.
Let’s rock!