Richard Douglas Fosbury was an American high jumper who is regarded as one of the sport’s most important athletes. With a “back-first” maneuver that has come to be known as the Fosbury Flop, he revolutionized the high jump competition and earned a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics.
After a brief lymphoma relapse, Dick Fosbury passed away quietly in his sleep early on Sunday morning.
Fosbury, a former high jumper for the United States, changed the sport by inventing the “Fosbury Flop,” a brand-new jumping maneuver.
Fosbury remained active in sports even after he stopped competing and had a position on the International Olympians Association’s Executive Board.
In addition to being a high jumper, he also pursued an engineering career and succeeded in business.
He used a different approach that allowed him a lower center of gravity in flight: he ran diagonally toward the bar, curled, and leaped backwards over it. Since Fosbury’s performance in Mexico, this strategy has almost entirely been adopted. Fosbury never competed in the Olympics again, although he remained active in athletics after retiring and had a position on the World Olympians Association’s executive board.
In 2014, Fosbury unsuccessfully challenged Steve Miller for a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives. In a 2018 race against incumbent Larry Schoen, Fosbury won the position and began serving as Blaine County Commissioner in January 2019.
Fosbury won the U.S. Olympic trials two weeks after taking first place in the NCAA in mid-June with a leap of 2.16 meters (7 ft 1 in).
Despite the victory, the US Olympic Committee was concerned that the results at sea level Los Angeles might not be repeated at the high altitude in Mexico City, therefore his spot on the Olympic team was not guaranteed. In the Olympic training facility at Echo Peak, close to South Lake Tahoe, California, another competition took place in September.
Fosbury was one of four men in that competition to clear 2.18 m (7 ft 1+78 in), but due to misses, he finished in fourth place. The bar was raised to a height that none of the four had ever cleared: 2.20 m (7 ft 2+58 in).
However, Fosbury, Reynaldo Brown, a high school student, and Olympic veteran Ed Caruthers all succeeded on their first tries. The Olympic team of three jumpers was established when the fourth guy, John Hartfield, another high school student who had been leading the tournament, failed all three of his tries.
Meet Dick Fosbury Wife, Robin Tomasi
Fosbury passed away on March 12, 2023, at the age of 76, following a brief battle with a lymphoma recurrence. Fosbury was married to Robin Tomasi, with whom he had a son named Erich as well as Stephanie and Kristin, Robin’s daughters.
As Robin maintained a low profile, little about her has been revealed. Before meeting Fosbury, she had already been married and had kids.
Fosbury regularly expressed how important his wife was to him, saying that she had a big impact on his life and played a big part in it.
The couple had been married for a while, but Robin liked to avoid the cameras. As a result, not much is known about her.
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