The Fosbury flop is a technique used to clear the bar in the track and field event, the high jump. In the Fosbury flop, the jumper sails over the bar head first and backward. The Fosbury flop is named after the American Dick Fosbury, the inventor of the technique. Dick Fosbury won the gold medal for the high jump in the 1968 Summer Olympics, held in Mexico City, using the technique. His success caused others to adopt the Fosbury flop. After several years of debate on whether the Fosbury flop was safe, the technique was adopted widely. Today, it is the preferred technique in the high jump. Note that the “f” in Fosbury is capitalized, as it is a surname.

Examples

That’s similar to the way high jumpers added 17 centimeters to their world records in the years following the popularization of the Fosbury Flop—the revolutionary approach created by 1968 gold medalist Dick Fosbury, in which the jumper leaps backward over the bar. (The Wall Street Journal)

At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, U.S. Olympian Dick Fosbury shocked the world with an innovative technique called the Fosbury flop, in which he turned his back to the bar when he jumped, rather than cross it face down. (Scientific American)

On the contrary, of the 40 competitors at the Munich Olympics four years later, 28 used the Fosbury Flop. (The Hindustan Times)

This caused the pick to lift into the air on an angle, like the “Fosbury Flop” technique that high jumpers use to roll over the bar with minimal clearance. (Guitar World Magazine)

But as Olympic gold medalist high jumper Dick Fosbury, father of the Fosbury Flop, took to the podium for the keynote address, the seated athletes began to trickle out. (The News & Advance)