Fosbury flop, mediocre example. High jump was a relatively new sport (~a century vs. humans swimming for 20,000 years) and his technique was only made possible

Fosbury flop, mediocre example. High jump was a relatively new sport (~a century vs. humans swimming for 20,000 years) and his technique was only made possible by the then-recent addition of a very soft and raised landing pad. The Fosbury Flop wasn't really an option before that, when you tended to land on dirt 6 or 7 feet below the bar.[1] Cliff Young, bad example. Young won because no one had ever done a race that long before (that was the first year) and the other competitors slept way too much. Once everyone else caught on the next year, Young never won the race again.[1] The "Young Shuffle" had little to do with it and is definitively not "transformative" or even used by any modern elite distance runners. In fact, the "Young Shuffle" is how anyone runs if forced to slow down to walking pace -- you can watch the "Young Shuffle" live anywhere you can find some elderly hobby joggers out for a cruise.[3] [1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/1912_Konstantinos_Tsiklitiras2.JPG https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/1912_Kon... [2] http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/07/1068013394824.html?from=storyrhs http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/07/1068013394824.h... [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OD96zocXRU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OD96zocXRU