We spoke to you about this earlier this weekAngelo Spagnolo who left his name on the TPC Sawgrass Golf Course for some obscure reason. Here is the story of athletes who shaped their sport.
French sports daily L’Équipe has listed a few with interesting stories to help explain the connection.
The death of American high jumper Dick Fosbury on Sunday reminded us that he revolutionized his sport with the “Fosbury flop,” a new way of crossing the bar that no one had seen before.
If we go back to the 1960s, the jumpers would do a headfirst and belly dive over the bar or in scissors, meaning legs forward.
In 1963, a young Fosbury decided to roll over the bar by jumping from behind and head first.
He began experimenting with this technique in 1963 and won the gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics while setting a new Olympic record of 2.24m. His technique is used today by all high jumpers and jumpers.
The Panenka
Antonin Panenka, in turn, inherited his name from one of the most famous technical gestures in football.
It’s a brave shot that’s nice to see when it works and a panenka, first scored in the European Cup of Nations final against West Germany.
With a 2-2 draw after extra time, the teams find themselves in a penalty shoot-out and it’s Panenka who could have the winning ball at his feet.
There he commits his amazing gesture. Instead of lunging for a hard shot as usual, he puts in a small punch down the middle, surprising the German keeper who dived to the left.
Madjer
Here’s another skill move in soccer that’s even more spectacular than the panenka because it’s actually a subterfuge.
La Madjer takes the name of Rabah Madjer, an Algerian striker who joined FC Porto in 1987.
As his team struggled to level at the end of the game, Madjer found himself with his back to the opposition’s goal as his team-mate crossed the ball into the box.
Madjer doesn’t turn and always has his back to goal when he hits the bouncing ball with his right heel to confuse the Bayern Munich goalkeeper and equalize.
The Axel
Who hasn’t heard Alain Golberg talk about an Axel while watching figure skating at the Olympics?
The maneuver is named after Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen, who performed it at the 1882 World Skating Championships in Austria.
Then he performs a rotation of one and a half revolutions in the air before touching the ice. The climax of the story? He had made this jump with speed skates on his feet. You have to wait 30 years until you see her competing again through the German Charlotte Oelschlegel.
Since then, skaters have revolutionized the jump, and at the 2022 Games, Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu became the first skater to attempt a quadruple axel in competition.