Dwight Stones

Stones was the first flopper to break the men's world record, in 1973, and raised it three times in all. He was also the event's great showman, rehearsing every jump visibly at the top of his long, curved approach, a pre-jump routine that is now standard. Two Olympic bronzes, including one in the rain in Montreal that punished his speed-dependent style, show the flop's early growing pains. He later became a well-known television analyst of the event.