© 2025 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Olympic legend and Oregon State Hall of Famer Dick Fosbury dead at 76

KLCC | By Brian Bull
Published March 13, 2023 at 5:05 PM PDT
Dick Fosbury doing high jump maneuver.
Oregon State Univeristy, used with permission.
Dick Fosbury attended OSU from 1965-1969. He's remembered as the inventor of the "Fosbury Flop" high jump technique. He won two national championships and an Olympic gold medal while revolutionizing the sport.

A Medford native regarded as one of the most innovative and influential track and field athletes has died at the age of 76.

Dick Fosbury in 2018, during the dedication and unveiling of a sculpture at OSU commemorating his accomplishments.
Screen capture from video provided by Oregon State University.
Dick Fosbury in 2018, during the dedication and unveiling of a sculpture at OSU commemorating his accomplishments.

Oregon State Hall of Famer Dick Fosbury – credited with the “Fosbury Flop” high-jumping technique- died after a recurrence of lymphoma.

Fosbury took gold at the 1968 Olympics with a record high jump after winning two NCAA titles.

In a statement, Oregon State Vice President and athletic director Scott Barnes said Fosbury will “always be a Beaver legend.”

Fosbury was immortalized in a sculpture dedicated in 2018 on the OSU campus. The unveiling was also the golden anniversary of his Olympic Games victory.

He is a member of the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, Oregon State Sports Hall of Fame, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, USA Track and Field Hall of Fame, World Humanitarian Hall of Fame, and the National High School Hall of Fame.

Fosbury is survived by his wife Robin Tomasi, and son Erich Fosbury, as well as stepdaughters Stephanie Thomas-Phipps and Kristin Thompson.
Human Interest
Brian Bull
Brian Bull is a contributing freelance reporter with the KLCC News department, who first began working with the station in 2016. He's a senior reporter with the Native American media organization Buffalo's Fire, and was recently a journalism professor at the University of Oregon.

In his nearly 30 years working as a public media journalist, Bull has worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
See stories by Brian Bull
Related Content