From 1890 to 1967 the sport of high jumping saw little innovation. Participants went over the bar in a handful of ways, with the intent to jump and land on their feet:

Jumpers preferred landing on their feet because it prevented them from getting hurt. And while there were many small changes in high jumping techniques over those 77 years, nothing compared to what happened in the summer of 1968.

At the Summer Games in Mexico City, a young college athlete named Dick Fosbury did something unfathomable. He jumped over the bar backwards.

This radical method was ridiculed by many, including Fosbury’s own coach.

“Kids imitate champions. If they try to imitate Fosbury, he will wipe out an entire generation of high jumpers because they all will have broken necks.”

— U.S. Coach Payton Jordan

A local newspaper even called Fosbury the “World’s Laziest High Jumper.”

But Fosbury’s results proved otherwise. He shattered the previous Olympic record by clearing the bar at 7-4¼ and went on to win the 1968 Olympic gold medal. His new technique was coined the ‘Fosbury Flop.’

Reflecting on the summer he introduced the Flop, Fosbury had this to say:

“You’ll read that I’m a gymnast. You’ll read that I’m a physicist and that I sat down one day and figured out a better way to jump. You’ll read that I ran up and tripped one day and fell backward over the bar.

Then he began shaking his head to the contrary, and said… “But I didn’t change my style… It changed inside me.”

The last men’s world record set not using the Flop was in 1978. Every record since then has been set using Fosbury’s radical technique.

But the Fosbury Flop isn’t the only example of one person changing an entire sport based on ‘radical’ methods they used.

This article highlights a few of these innovations. Some of them changed a sport for good while others are still in various stages of adoption.

Most importantly it appears that true innovation can start with just ONE person thinking outside of the box. And even though the risk of failure is high and people initially think they’re crazy, it’s not long before their method becomes the ‘norm’ and people wonder why things hadn’t changed sooner.

(Disclaimer - I’m not a sports guy. But as I went down the rabbit hole I continued finding unique examples of athletes innovating and was fascinated by their journeys.)

1. The bun dunk - how competitive hot dog eating was changed forever

Legend has it that on July 4, 1916, four immigrants gathered at the very first Nathan’s Famous hot dog stand in Coney Island and made eating contest history. As the story goes, they were competing to see who was the most patriotic. How did they determine the winner? With a hot dog-eating contest.

As crazy as it sounds competitive eating has become a popularized sport. The Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest attracts over 40,000 fans each year and is broadcast on ESPN to nearly two million viewers.

For years, the longest standing record for most hot dogs eaten was ‘just’ 25 and ⅛, eaten in 12 minutes.

But in 2001 a 23-year-old from Japan named Takeru ‘Kobi’ Kobayashi entered the scene and absolutely dominated the field; eating 50 hot dogs and buns.

How was this possible? Kobi was a small Japanese man and had never even competed in an American hot dog eating competition.

Before entering the U.S. competitive circuit Kobi began intensely experimenting with different techniques for sausage (American-style hot dogs weren't available in Japan) and bun consumption. It was during this time he crafted the game-changing bun dip, where he dipped the hot dog bun in a cup of water to break down its starch, squeeze out the excess water, and toss it into his mouth as a ball. It wasn't appetizing (or visually appealing), but it worked.

When asked about his unconventional methods, Kobi said,

"I think people have to have a reason to rethink what could be wrong.”

He even went a little deeper, stating that his record was less about the new method of eating and more about overcoming limitations of the mind:

"I think the thing about human beings is that they make a limit in their mind of what their potential is, and they decide that 'Well, I've been told this or this is what society tells me' — they've just been made to believe something.” He continued, “If every human being actually threw away those thoughts…the potential of human beings, I think, is really great."

If you now watch any competitive hot dog eating competition you’ll notice almost all the participants dunk the buns in water before scarfing them down… a method now commonplace but was unheard of before Kobi entered the scene.

2. The underwater dolphin turn and a new generation of swimmers

By the time he retired at Rio 2016 at the age of 31, Michael Phelps had collected 23 golds, three silvers and two bronze medals at the Olympics, a record-breaking haul that looks unlikely to be beaten for many years to come.

Much has been written of Phelps’ discipline and practice routines. He also has a ‘freakish’ body well suited for swimming.

But very little has been written about a technique he mastered which put him well ahead of many of his competitors - his underwater dolphin turns:

In one competition, Phelps “…surfaced an astonishing 2.5 seconds after the Frenchman who touched the wall in the lead," Timothy Burke of Deadspin wrote.

The underwater dolphin kick has been a feature in competitive swimming for many years and is scientifically proven to be faster than any other swimming technique. But only a handful of athletes have taken advantage of the benefits that this technique provides. Why?

In a WSJ piece titled ‘Does swimming need a new stroke?’ the author writes, “The stroke that may propel humans through water faster than any other, the dolphin kick, won't be a major factor. That's because it's banned after the first 15 meters.”

Official reasons include competitors' safety (risk of oxygen depletion) and the fact that spectators need excitement (watching people swim underwater isn’t as fun as watching them thrash around on the surface).

So why is Phelps’ technique such a radical innovation?

John Mullen, founder of SwimmingScience.net and a physical therapist for Olympic athletes, says this, "Phelps's turn was important, especially for someone like him who is such a good underwater kicker. His underwaters are such an asset, and we're just now starting to see 100 meter specialists go a little further underwater," he said.

"The swimmers who are in the 26-32 range, they weren't really getting underwater training when they were young. The 16-20 year olds who are at their first Olympics, they've spent their whole lives developing the ability to maintain speeds underwater."

In other words, Phelps was the first competitive swimmer to popularize and refine this technique in a ‘new era’ of swimming. This begs the question - if it’s common knowledge that underwater techniques are much better than techniques on the surface, why isn’t everyone using this technique like Phelps?

Phelps himself had this to say:

“For me, some of the most effective work in the pool comes with vertical kicking and underwater kicking. It’s painful, but effective.”

It takes a special person to train as hard as Phelps. But it’s not only his tenacity and drive that led to this innovation in his turns - it’s a ‘way of being’ for Phelps’ swimming style and specific events.

John Mullen, the olympic personal trainer, told a reporter, “Because humans are so inefficient at swimming, the sport is constantly changing. Sometimes, it takes decades for a particular technique to make its way through the ranks.”

If the Fosbury Flop or Kobi’s hot dog eating technique are any indicator, a future generation of swimmers will likely pick up on Phelps’ dolphin turn technique and use it to propel the sport to new heights.

3. The granny shot - a proven innovation that nobody wants to use

Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal are essentially household names - even more so in the world of basketball. It’s impossible to forget their dominating presence on the court; both standing 7’1” and absolute monsters at scoring points.

Over his career Wilt Chamberlain had a combined 118 games with 50+ points. For comparison, Michael Jordan only had 31 of those games.

Shaq was no slouch either - he sits atop the top 10 list of all NBA players for total points scored over their career and also on the top 10 for total blocked shots.

But both of these players had the same glaring weakness - their inability to make free throws. For context, the average free throw percentage in the NBA is 77.2%, making about every three out of four attempts.

Wilt’s percentage was an abysmal 51%. Shaq’s was only slightly better at 52.7%. This puts both players near the very bottom of all players in the history of the NBA for their inability to make free throws.

What makes this fact even worse is that both men refused to use a proven method for improving their free throw shooting percentage - shooting underhand.

Rick Barry, the man pictured above, figured out the secret sauce to shooting free throws from his time in college. He went on to shoot underhand from the free throw line throughout his ten year career in the NBA, leading the league seven times in free throw shooting percentage. He is also the only player to ever lead the NCAA, NBA, and ABA in scoring.

He ended up as the fourth best free throw shooter in NBA history, ending his career with a 90% make rate.

This innovative way of shooting free throws is not just proven by Rick’s success. A recent mathematical analysis revealed that for players with good control, using an unorthodox underarm technique gives better odds of scoring: the average free throw percentage with underhand shots is a remarkable 89%.

Compared to the NBA average of 77.2%, or Wilt and Shaq’s percentages in the low 50’s, this represents a massive increase in the ability of professional players to score more points per game.

Rick’s technique has also been passed down to his son, Canyon, who shoots underhand in college:

During his last two seasons with the Florida Gators Canyon scored, on average, 86% of his free throw shots. To compare, the average in the NBA over the same period was 76%.

So why wouldn’t Wilt or Shaq adopt this new technique and help their teams by scoring more points?

To be fair, Wilt Chamberlain actually DID try shooting his free throws underhanded during the 1961-1962 season... and his shooting percentage improved by 10%. But it was only for that one season and his free throw never recovered.

In his autobiography, Chamberlain said,

“I felt silly, like a sissy, shooting underhanded. I know I was wrong, I know some of the best foul shooters in history shot that way. I just couldn’t do it.”

Shaq had a similar sentiment. When interviewed about why he wouldn’t shoot underhand the conversation went like this:

Shaquille O’Neal: Because it’s boring.

Business Insider: But it’s been proven to be somewhat effective.

O’Neal: No, it’s not. It’s not proven. Just ’cause a couple guys did it doesn’t mean anybody can do it. I told Rick Barry I’d rather shoot 0% than shoot underhand. I’m too cool for that.

Ok Shaq.

Underhand guru Rick Barry had this to say when asked about Shaq’s hesitancy to shoot free throws using his technique:

"I really truly can't comprehend the aversion people have to trying something that could be very effective for them.”

Barry’s son Canyon also voiced his opinion on trying his dad’s technique, saying "Logically dictated, if you have one of the greatest free throw shooters of all time as your personal free throw coach, you should at least give it a try."

Even when innovation works it doesn’t mean others will adopt it. Will we see an increase in players using the underhand technique? Time will tell, but so far very few players have been willing to take the ego blow.

Where does this leave those of us who aren’t competitive athletes? What lessons on innovation can we apply in our own lives?

- Each of these individuals had a hunch about a new way of competing and ran with it. They experimented, refined their methods, and trained hard to be at the top of their sport. It’s worthwhile to consider this intuition or gut feeling in our own lives, and further explore possibilities of acting or ‘being’ in a new way.

- I never thought a competitive hot dog eater would deliver such a profound statement on innovation. Likewise, Fosbury’s quote about his ‘flop’ changing inside of him rather than him changing his technique was just as incredible. It’s clear that these competitors are finely in tune with their bodies and mental/emotional states. We should listen more closely to what our bodies are telling us.

- Each athlete received criticism for their innovative methods. But they continued onward, undeterred by naysayers. If you firmly believe in going against the mainstream you should expect criticism.

- Even if your innovation is proven successful it doesn’t mean people will adopt it. You shouldn’t do something for the validation of others, you should do it for your own benefit.

Being an innovator means being unconventional. You’re challenging routines and mindsets ingrained in individuals and organizations over decades. Like writing in public, innovation necessitates taking a stand and opening yourself up for critique.

But innovation leads to gold medals. It leads to world records. It leads to more successful organizations. Innovation inspires humans to reach new heights. Innovation landed us on the moon. It’s taken us to the depths of the oceans. And it will take us to places we can’t currently fathom.