The Fosbury Flop is a type of jump used in athletic high jump events. It was introduced and popularized by American Olympic high jumer Dick Fosbury. He used the jumping style to win the gold medal at the 1968 summer Olympics. Since Fosbury introduced it, the Fosbury Flop has persisted as the most common and most successful high jumping method. It characteristically employs a low center of gravity and a low center of mass.

The Fosbury Flop employs a curved approach, or run-up, to the bar. The approach usually features between eight and ten steps, though those more comfortable or consistent through additional steps have found it successful. The final steps of the run-up are generally taken not straight to the bar, as in other jumps, but in a slight curve. Fosbury originally finished the run-up in a near semi-circle, though other jumpers have adapted to a less drastic approach.

While the center of gravity is established low on the approach, the jump is made with a strong rotation in the body. The upper body and lower body twist at the core, until the back is facing the bar. A “somersault” move is utilized to bring the back, head, and shoulders over the bar initially. The back is arched after the shoulders clear the bar and the legs are kicked out as low as possible until the lower back crosses the bar. The legs then snap over after the clearance of the rest of the torso and the rear end.

In the Fosbury Flop, while the back clears the bar, the ends of the body are kept as low as possible. Often as low as 20 cm (7.9 inches) under the bar, much of the center of mass remains below the bar, allowing the jumper to clear a higher bar than other jumpers using different techniques. The Fosbury Flop is often executed with the knees bent until the snap over the bar, and can be done with the arms at the sides, to the front, or raised over the head, keeping the weight under the bar.

Dick Fosbury began practicing the Fosbury Flop because of his trouble and inconsistencies in performing the more common high jump methods, the straddle and the western roll. Fosbury began approaching the bar with his back to it and jumping over horizontally. He completed the jump with his back arched and his arms at his sides. He soon perfected the method well enough to take it to the Olympics, where he jumped 2.24 meters (7.34 feet) to take the gold medal.

The essential moves of the Fosbury Flop are the backward and lateral somersault motions, and rely on the precision of the jumper. The most common problem of the poorly executed Fosbury Flop is a lack of rotation, or the inability of the jumper to snap the lower body over the bar at the end of the jump.