Traiblazing Olympic high jumper Dick Fosbury dead at 76

Dick Fosbury, the Olympic high jumper who revolutionized the sport with his signature "Fosbury Flop," died Sunday of lymphoma at age 76, according to his publicist.

Ray Schulte, Fosbury's publicist, said that a previous bout with lymphoma had recurred and that Fosbury had succumbed to the disease.

Fosbury used the "Fosbury Flop" to win a gold medal in the 1968 Olympics. The move was a brand-new way of jumping over the bar with an arched back and flopping down onto the mat, and it has rarely been done differently since that time.

Fosbury was a physics major at the time and he used some of that knowledge to come up with the new technique.

Michael Johnson, also an Olympic track athlete, called Fosbury a "legend" who "changed an entire event forever."

Fosbury was made a member of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1981.