Sometimes, it's just about doing things a little bit differently. We're talking about the kind of slight differences that seem like mistakes until they start working and challenge what everyone thought they knew.
For instance, it used to be common knowledge in basketball that if you ended up behind the backboard, there was no way you could make a shot. Yet, Julis "Dr. J" Irving shocked the NBA when he did exactly that with his famous behind-the-backboard layup. The move made defenders confident they had stopped him while providing just enough leeway for his arm to guide the ball over the board.
Today, we're going to see how a Canadian Olympian has worked some similar magic in the sport of high jumping. What he does seems more subtle than Dr. J's famous move but it would seem just as baffling to his fellow athletes.
COMMENT and tell us about times you won by going against the grain.
Once upon a time, the high jump was a much more difficult sport.
In the early 1900s, Ray Ewry here won several gold medals for the standing high jump, which isn't even an Olympic event anymore. Here, he shows the textbook method for jumping back then. It looks awkward and unwieldy by today's standards.
We're much more used to this method, but it was brand new back in 1968.
Dick Fosbury won a gold medal after deciding to jump backward using a move that's now known as the "Fosbury Flop." Since it was easier to clear the bar this way, it eventually became the standard method for today's athletes.
Until recently, it was the last time anyone had changed high jumping with such a major innovation.
Until recently, it was the last time anyone had changed high jumping with such a major innovation.
It's not like there's nothing left to fix, either.
While high jumpers now have a tried and true method for clearing the bar, there's still the matter of what to do before you lift off. Without the right foot control, it's common to go off half-cocked and crash into the bar right when you're supposed to jump.
Yet, Canadian high jumper Derek Drouin has found a solution.
Despite being fairly simple, his way flies in the face of the conventional wisdom behind the sport. Still, it's clearly working out well for him.
Drouin just won gold at Rio 2016 thanks to his innovation.
Drouin just won gold at Rio 2016 thanks to his innovation.
Drouin has a slow, bounding style when running up to the bar.
Most jumpers go at full speed because it's usually understood that running faster means jumping higher.
How Drouin is able to get away with doing the opposite boils down to the use of energy.
When high jumpers run up, they're building up a lot of kinetic energy that they use to power the jump. To complete the jump, they have to successfully convert horizontal energy into vertical energy.
They're trained to take this curving path up to the bar because it makes that transition easier than approaching head-on.
They're trained to take this curving path up to the bar because it makes that transition easier than approaching head-on.
You'd think that going fast would give you more energy to work with.
However, doing this makes it more likely for a jumper's leg to bend. This causes significant energy loss because they have to correct the bend before lifting off.
Drouin's method eliminates this problem.
By going slower, he's able to make sure his leg stays rigid during takeoff and that he has enough energy built up to clear the bar.
It's too early to tell if this method will catch on like the Fosbury Flop but it seems likely considering Drouin just won gold using it.
It's too early to tell if this method will catch on like the Fosbury Flop but it seems likely considering Drouin just won gold using it.
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