ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS: Have any innovations in sport been as game-changing as the Fosbury Flop in the high jump?
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QUESTION: Are there any sports innovations that have been as groundbreaking as the Fosbury Flop in the high jump?
I would like to point out the introduction of the fiberglass pole for pole vaulting in the 1950s. Before that, poles were stiff and made of wood or aluminum.
Top jumpers switched to fiberglass after Herb Jenks introduced his Browning Sky Pole in the early 1960s. Jenks’ pole was sturdier than earlier fiberglass poles, which were prone to breakage.
When it became apparent that the flexibility of the new poles allowed the rebound to help the jumper over the bar, it became clear that a new technique was needed.
Fiberglass poles have evolved into the advanced models we use today.
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis competes in the men’s pole vault at the World Athletics Diamond League
Dick Fosbury of the United States clears the bar in the high jump at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City
Gold medalist Dick Fosbury raises his arm on the podium of honor at the Olympic Stadium in 1968
In 1960, the world record for pole vaulting was 4.8 meters, now it is 6.26 meters. For comparison, the high jump was 2.2 meters in 1960, now it is only 2.45 meters. So you could say that the invention of the fiberglass pole had a much bigger impact than the Fosbury Flop, which Dick Fosbury first used in 1968.
Cecil Lowry, Stockport
QUESTION: When and why did a white flag become the signal for surrender?
The white flag was established in international law as a sign of surrender, armistice or negotiations in a conflict during the Hague Convention of 1899.
It was a practical choice for its simplicity and visibility in battle. White stands out against chaotic backgrounds and lacks offensive symbolism, so it is understood across cultures and armies.
The white flag has been used throughout history. The Roman historian Livy wrote that during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), the Carthaginians signaled their desire for peace with “bands of white wool and branches of olive.”
It became widespread from the Middle Ages. In 1578, the English sailor George Best, searching for the Northwest Passage, described encountering the Inuit, who signaled their peaceful intentions with “a white flag made of bladders sewn together with the entrails and sinews of beasts.”
Colin Hay, Cromer, Norfolk
QUESTION: Was Sean Connery’s role as Zed in Zardoz the most bizarre film casting ever?
In addition to the previous answers, what did you think of Keanu Reeves’ portrayal of Jonathan Harker in a 1992 film adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula?
Denise Richards played a nuclear physicist named Christmas Jones in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough and it captured the imagination.
Annie Forbes, Brighton