High Jump - The Fosbury Flop

The Fosbury Flop was created by the American High Jumper Dick Fosbury who won a Gold Medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics and brought it to the world's attention.

The Fosbury Flop requires the person jumping to cross the bar and land on their shoulders perpendicular to the bar.

Technique:

This high jump drill aims to encourage the student to turn their head towards the shoulder which is furthest from the bar. This is not a natural move so make it a gradual process by asking the student to turn little by little. The effect that this has is that they will start to cross the bar in a perpendicular angle to the bar rather than a right angle.

This turning effect is also assisted by the "hockey stick" or "j-shaped" run up which consists of the student running in a straight line towards the high jump, with the last 3 or 4 strides curving around. This helps with the rotation.