How Much Faster

The story of Fosbury’s discovery illustrates the role of serendipity in advancing biomechanics. When Fosbury was growing up in Portland, Ore., he learned to jump over the high bar using the scissors kick - hopping over the bar with his The story of Fosbury’s discovery illustrates the role of serendipity in advancing biomechanics. When Fosbury was growing up in Portland, Ore., he learned to jump over the high bar using the scissors kick - hopping over the bar with his rear end down - that was taught to children. In high school, his coach tried to convert him to the “correct” international style, which involved straddling the bar face down, in a forward roll. Fosbury, a gangly adolescent, found the technique difficult to master, so his coach allowed him to use the childish scissors in one meet. His first jump was an unimpressive 5 feet 4 inches. The problem, as he saw it, was that his rear kept knocking the bar. So he modified his approach to what he called “kind of a lazy scissors.” As the bar moved higher, Fosbury found that he was beginning to go over flat on his back. “I’m upside down from everybody else,” he recalled. “I go over at six feet, and nobody knows what the heck I’m doing.” The story of Fosbury’s discovery illustrates the role of serendipity in advancing biomechanics. When Fosbury was growing up in Portland, Ore., he learned to jump over the high bar using the scissors kick - hopping over the bar with his rear end down - that was taught to children. In high school, his coach tried to convert him to the “correct” international style, which involved straddling the bar face down, in a forward roll. Fosbury, a gangly adolescent, found the technique difficult to master, so his coach allowed him to use the childish scissors in one meet. His first jump was an unimpressive 5 feet 4 inches. The problem, as he saw it, was that his rear kept knocking the bar. So he modified his approach to what he called “kind of a lazy scissors.” As the bar moved higher, Fosbury found that he was beginning to go over flat on his back. “I’m upside down from everybody else,” he recalled. “I go over at six feet, and nobody knows what the heck I’m doing.” The story of Fosbury’s discovery illustrates the role of serendipity in advancing biomechanics. When Fosbury was growing up in Portland, Ore., he learned to jump over the high bar using the scissors kick - hopping over the bar with his rear end down - that was taught to children. In high school, his coach tried to convert him to the “correct” international style, which involved straddling the bar face down, in a forward roll. Fosbury, a gangly adolescent, found the technique difficult to master, so his coach allowed him to use the childish scissors in one meet. His first jump was an unimpressive 5 feet 4 inches. The problem, as he saw it, was that his rear kept knocking the bar. So he modified his approach to what he called “kind of a lazy scissors.” As the bar moved higher, Fosbury found that he was beginning to go over flat on his back. “I’m upside down from everybody else,” he recalled. “I go over at six feet, and nobody knows what the heck I’m doing.” The story of Fosbury’s discovery illustrates the role of serendipity in advancing biomechanics. When Fosbury was growing up in Portland, Ore., he learned to jump over the high bar using the scissors kick - hopping over the bar with his rear end down - that was taught to children.

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