Before Dick Fosbury, high jumpers went over the bar face down using the straddle or the scissors. As a teenager at Medford High in Oregon, Fosbury worked out a different way. He went over backward, head first. People thought it looked strange. A newspaper caption even said “Fosbury flops over bar,” and the name stuck. At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, the crowd was so surprised by his style that they stopped cheering and just watched. The 21-year-old won gold with an Olympic record of 2.24 meters. Four years later, 28 of the 40 jumpers at the Olympics were using his flop. Doing the right thing a new way can look odd at first. Do not be afraid to be faithful even when you look different from everyone else.
