ATHLETE

Dick Fosbury

1947 - 2023

Photo of Dick Fosbury

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Richard Douglas Fosbury (March 6, 1947 – March 12, 2023) was an American high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field. He won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics, revolutionizing the high jump event with a "back-first" technique now known as the Fosbury flop. His method was to sprint diagonally towards the bar, then curve and leap backward over the bar, which gave him a much lower center of mass in flight than traditional techniques. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Dick Fosbury has received more than 1,157,249 page views. His biography is available in 41 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 36 in 2019). Dick Fosbury is the 8th most popular athlete (up from 16th in 2019), the 828th most popular biography from United States (up from 1,333rd in 2019) and the 4th most popular American Athlete.

Dick Fosbury was a high jumper and is most famous for inventing the Fosbury Flop. The Fosbury Flop is a technique in which the jumper does not bend their knees, but instead throws themselves backwards and upwards, using the momentum to propel them over the bar.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 63.81

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 41

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.36

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.57

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ATHLETES

Among athletes, Dick Fosbury ranks 8 out of 6,025. Before him are Paavo Nurmi, Jesse Owens, Emil Zátopek, Bob Beamon, Carl Lewis, and Spyridon Louis. After him are Ronnie Coleman, Usain Bolt, Fanny Blankers-Koen, Javier Sotomayor, Ray Ewry, and Thomas Burke.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1947, Dick Fosbury ranks 54. Before him are James Woods, Michio Kaku, Stan Kroenke, Alain Aspect, Bachir Gemayel, and Tostão. After him are Jonathan Pryce, Aaron Ciechanover, César Gaviria, Sheikh Hasina, Mykola Azarov, and Jonathan Banks. Among people deceased in 2023, Dick Fosbury ranks 57. Before him are Tom Wilkinson, Otar Iosseliani, David McCallum, Miroslav Blažević, Mircea Snegur, and Lucile Randon. After him are Jan Jongbloed, Ahmed Qurei, Mark Margolis, Astrud Gilberto, Dubravka Ugrešić, and Alain Touraine.

Others Born in 1947

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Others Deceased in 2023

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Dick Fosbury ranks 828 out of 20,380. Before him are Robert Downey Jr. (1965), Samuel Barber (1910), Jonas Salk (1914), Howard Hawks (1896), Nikki Sixx (1958), and Tim Robbins (1958). After him are Mark Zuckerberg (1984), Michael Bloomberg (1942), John Dos Passos (1896), Scott Joplin (1868), Rudy Giuliani (1944), and Bill Evans (1929).

Others born in United States

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Among ATHLETES In United States

Among athletes born in United States, Dick Fosbury ranks 4. Before him are Jesse Owens (1913), Bob Beamon (1946), and Carl Lewis (1961). After him are Ronnie Coleman (1964), Ray Ewry (1873), Thomas Burke (1875), Mike Powell (1963), Florence Griffith Joyner (1959), Ellery Harding Clark (1874), Frank Zane (1942), and Larry Scott (1938).

American born Athletes

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