Added: 4 years ago
From: runner1972yahoo
Views: 419,757
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (691)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • I wonder how much that hat is worth now.

  • haahhaahhahaahhahahaahahhaaaha­hahahahahhahaaahhahaahhaahahah­ahahhaaahhaaahahhahaahahaahhaa­hhahahahahaha

  • dave was hoping he wasent going to be tested for performance steriods

  • Lol steroids does not help you in running at all...

  • straight up steroids

  • i have watched every major middle distance race since 1972....olympics, worlds, leagues, world record....but this to me is magical....everything about it is sublime....under rated runner, looks odd, wears a baseball cap, maverick, does his own think, it feels like a fairytale, it just should not happen....just see how much he makes up from 300m out, never ever gives up or change his pace and pips it on the line....this is the reason i deeply love running

  • Still gives me chills hearing Jim McKay call that race. What a great moment.

  • @0225Mat

    I totally echo your comment about Jim McKay....a great announcer that would rise to the occasion. He also did a memorable job covering the tragedy of what happened to the Israeli team.

  • Magnificent race, and an Olympics hosted by ABC - God was on his throne, and all was right with the world.

  • The 800 is still, and always will be one of the hardest races to race. The trick is the hat.

  • This guy is my icon. I like Dave even more than Pre.

  • @rondocelticsfan9

    can't really compare the two. Pre just runs the 1 mile and 5k and I think 10k

  • @TehUltimateSnake Thats true, although Pre ran the two mile, the three mile and the 5000 meter.

  • And thus Mario and lugi was born ..

  • Nice......

  • Stand by for the kick of Dave Wottle!!!!! The announcer Jim Mckay was a Prophet!!!!

  • Painters hat

  • You noticed when David Wottle was lagging at the back in the initial stages the commentors started making excuses that he was injured!

  • it doesnt matter how you run the race as long as you win nothing else matters

  • 2:33

    fuck kenyans. bunch of poor sports.

  • wieviel die wohl zahlen mussten, damit der typ mit dem käppi vorbei gelassen wurde.

  • ...while wearing a HAT!!

  • If Arzhanov doesn't make a move at that exact moment, I don't know if Wottle would have won, because he reacted immediately to his move on. Waiting any longer could have cost him.

  • Is the decimal point in the clock time a star of david?

  • @lehman Yes. Look up why.

  • @lehman they put the Star of David on there to honor the Israelis who died during the 1972 Olympics

  • USA! USA!

  • @panthersrock77777777 I'm gonna hope you are either a troll or to uneducated to know any better,

  • @panthersrock77777777 the beuty of track is that there are times to determine the better runner; Wottle flat out ran the faster race...nuff said pussy

  • he looks like angus young

  • off the gun it looked like Wottle had NO chance.

  • Just a brilliant example of even pacing for all the young runners, whose coaches push them to run in front...

  • A thrilling finish!

  • "Congrats to all the skinny guys!"

  • @HammerTime005 Well, as Mr Wottle proved in September 1972, you don't have to be built like a nite-club doorman to succeed as an 800 metres runner! In fact, sheer physical strength and muscle-power are not the be-all-and-end all for a 400 metres runner either. In recent years some athletics fans and pundits have criticised Jeremy Wariner for being "too thin and skinny".... but he has run the 400 in 43.45 seconds, fcol !! He has also won three individual Gold medals in 'open' championships -

  • @HammerTime005 [Continuing on from my previous 'post' about so called "skinny guys"] i.e the Olympic Games and the 'Worlds'. At the end of the day, it is the quality of an athlete's PERFORMANCE that matters - not their physical build or the size of their chest/biceps (or any other part of their anatomy, for that matter).

    Also, it is worth mentioning that some top class middle-distance runners (and indeed 400 metre stars) are WAY stronger and harder than they look. A classic example of

  • @HammerTime005 [Continuing on from my previous 'post' about so called "skinny guys"] an athlete who came into that category was Britain's Sebastian Coe. Back in the summer of 1980 - when Coe won the first of his two Olympic Gold medals (in the 1500m) - he only weighed about 140lb. What is more, his chest measurement was under 40 inches, and his biceps a mere 14" (if that). Despite these physical "shortcomings", Coe was capable - back in 1980 - of lifting well over 200lb (in the

  • @HammerTime005 [Continuing on from my previous 'posts' about so called "skinny guys"]: clean and jerk). In other words, his strength/weight ratio was very high.

    I suspect that Jerry Wariner has a highly impressive strength/weight ratio, too. He may not be built like an international rugby union player - or a top-class decathlete - but there is no doubt in my mind that he is capable of handling some pretty heavy weights in the gym, without too much difficulty.

  • @TheEctomorph loli bet u couldnt even do a sub 2 min anymore, keep dreaming of the old days hahahahahahahhahahahahahaha

  • That was the socket finish I've ever seen...ever...of all times.s

  • che sicurezza..fantastico

  • Normally we Americans love to overrate ourselves and our performances, but this was one glorious race by Wottle.

  • 19 people are self conscious about wearing hats

  • [Continuing on from my previous 'post' about Mr David Wottle]: had in the first 400 m.

    Mr Wottle was undoubtedly a great athlete in his heyday, in the early 1970's. Whilst he never managed to actually BREAK the [then] world record for the 800 metres (which stood at 1: 44.3 seconds), I believe that he did equal that mark on one occasion.

  • @TheEctomorph WELL SAID

  • Comment removed

  • @TheEctomorph - Yes..another long-winded post from the Endomorph...

    "I believe that he did equal that mark on one occasion." Duh...he ran that time in winning the '72 Olympic trials.

    And Wottle was known for negative-spltting, he did that in this race as well (52.9/51.4)

  • Comment removed

  • @odyb95 - Hopefully you figured out our error and that's why you deleted your comment...

  • Mr Wottle ran an exceptionally even paced race in Munich that day, back in September 1972. In fact, I think that he covered the second 400 metres of the race in a marginally faster time than he covered the first lap. That is something of a rarity in the 800 metres event, at world-class level.

    Funnily enough, though, when Britain's Steve Ovett became the Olympic champion in that event - 8 years later, in 1980 - he also managed to run faster during the second lap of the race than he

  • @TheEctomorph - Geez, another race you know NOTHING about. Yes, Wottle ran very even splits, but even he admitted that was more by accident than design. He said he felt awful right up into the final and just didn't want to embarrass himself in the final. The way race played out was fortuitous for him because Arzhanov was the pre-race favorite and had been ranked #1 in the world the two previous years.

  • Great performance by the lanky American; who was so much slighter in build than the guy who succeeded him as Olympic 800 metres champion 4 years later - Cuba's Alberto Juantorena Danger.

    I believe that Mr Wottle was nicknamed the 'head waiter'; having watched this footage of his brilliant tactical performance in the 1972 Olympic final, I think that, that was a very apt nickname for him!

  • I saw this race live on TV when I was young, but now watching it, it seems like I am watching Napoleon Dynamite with a golf cap! Makes it even MORE awesome! :-)

  • A day of destiny. I was 8 in 72 but I remember this like it was yesterday. Along with Spitz and Mary Peters, this is my abiding memory of the Munich Olympics. Talk about a cool run...unbelievable tactical judgement and self belief in his ability to come from first to last. The name of Dave Wottle will be remembered forever.

  • @vicsmith5000 So true! Dave ran each split in almost exactly the same time for each split! Mind boggling.

  • I'm starting the Command and General Staff Course at Fort Leavenworth, KS. The Deputy Commandant for the school used this clip to illustrate a point about our ten month course. He used this race to illustrate the importance of "balance". Run your race at your pace, and don't burn yourself out by jumping out to a huge lead. As "AvgDude" mentions below; Dave Wottle ran this entire race with a time of 26 seconds on each lap. He wasn't speeding up... the competition was dying!

  • get fucked

  • Never saw a more exciting finish ever. Though I agree the field was exhausted Franz-Josef Kemper was a class in extending his hand in congrats.

  • amazinggggggg

    

  • I'd never heard of this Dave Wottle guy before, but every one I know is gonna get this sent to them. He looks like a nerdy guy going for a light jog in the park and ends up an Olympic legend. His race should be shown as part of the opening ceremony of every Olympics not the quasi-art gumph that I never bother with.

  • running with a hat...

  • Wottle proved that smart beats tough. Tough is never enough. The African strategy in middle distance and long distance--go balls out from the gun--only works, and then not always, in the 1500 and up. But in the 800, you're up against guys who can hang back and nail their last 200 in less than 25 seconds, if they need to, and they're smart enough to win that way. Just like Wottle.

  • I remember the first time i stumbled across this... Didnt even notice Dave Wottle wayyyy in the back, was watching the two kenyans. Then they mentioned dave and talked about how he might be injured, and i felt for him. Then i saw him slowly make his way up. Then they hit that 100m and thought wow he could get a medal. Then with about 30m he was still soooo far away and thought for sure he would get second. Finally he passed the guy and me and my friend went nuts! We were screaming in amazement.

  • I can watch this until I die and will still get a thrill from Wottle's incredible run.

  • This is obviously fake, there were two black guys running and the white guy won.. you do the math

  • @2lasiiJAkuppi Don't be so f*****g stupid. Many of the great 800 metres runners of the last 100 years have been white men. One of them was Britain's Sebastian [now Lord] Coe, who held the world record for this event for a period of 18 years, no less - from the summer of 1979 until the summer of '97. Coe's personal best time for the 800 m (1:41. 73 seconds) is still an exceptionally fast time - even by the standards of today. In fact, only 2 men have ever run the distance faster than Coe.

  • @TheEctomorph lol.. im glad u have a sense of humor, also don't really give a fuck about the history in this sport if the winner is white/black or called Sam or Jack. I guess u are the f*****g stupid1 in the end.

  • 1:36 "The Kenyans running like a mirror reflection of each other". ಠ_ಠ

  • That guy

  • My scout needs this hat

  • why was he wearing a hat?

  • @acdcrocker523 They mentioned it in the video that it was to keep his long hair out of his face but then eventually grew into a superstitious habit.

  • wow what a guy

  • Funny, I remember him in a painters cap. He was a hero to me.

  • @drnantz

    He was my hero too.I was just a kid-15 years old. I started to jog with a painters cap just to be like him.

  • @drnantz Golf cap, actually.

  • Not allowed to wear hats anymore

  • Arguably, the greatest race by an American Olympian ever!

  • @jtierney1963 agreed

    

  • @jtierney1963 What about Billy Mills ?

  • @jtierney1963 Bob Hayes on a chewed up cinder track in lane 1 and Billy Mills tremendous run in the 10,000 would be up there too. Definitely in the top Five for sure.

  • No matter how many times you see this video. I never think hes gonna win. What a race!!

  • @Rastafari6 spoiler alert

  • to raysalsa1..Jim ryun won the silver medal in the 68 olympics..hardly a bust

  • thanks for posting this, my favorite athletic event, a courageous and bold winning plan and expertly-run race; most merited gold of all time?

  • Im telling you guys its the golf cap

  • its the golf cap is godly!

  • david doing it in style, with the hat :D

  • Perfect 26 second 200m splits the entire race. Excellent race for Waddle.

  • can you imagine running a race so strategically well that commentators speculate that you might be hurt?? just absolutely unbelievable.

  • love the ruskie eatin' tartan.

  • Beautifully!!! 

  • I like his hat :D

  • that was fucking unreal!

  • The 1500 gets more attention but the 800 is the most strategic and interesting race in track. Wottle's 1972 run is a classic.

  • This man is the reason I run. He is my inspiration. God Bless America.

  • wow, I was sure he was going to come in last...

    Great runner!

  • he's got one kenyan! he's got the other one!

  • I asked Dave Wottle about his hat(s?). You know how many of those hats he had?Jeff.

  • INGENUIUS .

    he mastered the 800

  • That finish was absurd

  • thats so awesome and the brutal Kenyan was a sore sport

    didnt shake hands I think he went to Marmion

  • Dave Wottle was my introduction to Olympic sport. I remember he did the same in his qualifying and semi-final. I've still never seen a better race than the Final. Thank you Mr Wottle.

  • I watch this before every 800 I run

  • turf burn up the ASS!

  • in dave's words he said he could beat these 2 out 10 times if he lucky. it was a slow race. dave ran 1.5 seconds faster at trials in eugene. that amount time is eternity at this level of competition. another thing is he doesn't really outkick them in sense that he ran the last 200m his fastest. he actually ran 4 even 26 sec 200m splits. he explains that they came back to him. the USSR runner made his move way too early. he was undefeated in international meets for 3yrs prior.

  • @raysalsa1 None of that matters. In the US, the Olympics is ALL that matters in Track and Field. All of the other meets between Olympics are paid attention to by about 1/100 of 1% of the population in the US. If you win in the Olympics in Track and Field, you have made it big-time. That's why Dave Wottle and Billy Mills are more famous track athletes than Jim Ryun. Ryun was much more talented and had a brilliant career, but he was an Olympic bust. Ditto Mary Decker.

  • @trwent everything about your post is just plain wrong.

  • this stuns me every time i watch it

  • Maybe if I wear a hat I could run fast like this Guy!! XD

  • Dave Wottle - U ran on your terms and u didn't follow the crowd from the start. Perfect Your a winner performance !!!

  • Oh wow, at 4:30 it hit me that these are the very same 1972 Olympics in Munich. I must have thought it was a WC or else something "low-key".

  • USA!

  • Wow! That was great!!

  • awww. that golf cap!

  • Anyone else notice the decimal point in the time at the end is a Star of David?

  • What do you call a performance drug cheat who didn't get caught? A gold medallist.

  • What a race. Perfect race you can say!

  • kind of looks like a move forest gump would use.

  • @Scicotion no he just ran and ran till he got tired

  • legend is right---what a race

  • 14 thumbs down? Seriously I hope you just made a mistake and meant thumbs up!

  • Franz-Josef Kemper I hope that you read this post. You are a man. You'd won if you'd followed Dave. I'll remember you as the only runner in that race to extend your hand in congratulations. That and your two world's records; 4x800m & 1000m.

  • @stringcatt "if, if, if" If pigs had wings they'd fly

  • Comment removed

  • Comment removed

  • Great video, thank you for posting

  • Wottle the Throttle... what a champion :D

  • He passes 5 guys in 15 seconds at the end of the race ... unbelievable!

  • 2:33. Now THATS bad sportsmanship. That Kenyan's an asshole. He went to go shake his hand, and he got rejected.

  • @thISxTHplacE Keino was also like that...

  • @thISxTHplacE dude if you knew how bad you feel after an 800 you would understand why the guy didn't want to haha

  • @thegreatstephano I have run multiple 800's. I'm pretty sure losing doesn't make you tired enough to not congratulate/shake a hand

  • @thISxTHplacE Stupid american imperialist.

  • @lekunberriko1 yes. because being imperialistic has anything to do with an 800m race.

  • @thISxTHplacE he wasn't shaking his hand. If you look close he was patting him on his butt.

  • @thISxTHpla Your right man thats bull shit. On a side note, 400m is still harder though

  • @thISxTHplacE Reminds me of another Kenyan.

  • @thISxTHplacE

    I think this one is worse (just a little):

    /watch?v=SQsWUb8zpjY

  • @FranchiseIndustries Oh shit!! I've never seen that hahahaha. Thanks for posting that lol

  • @thISxTHplacE if you watch closely wottle just gives him a slap on the butt, he didn't go to shake his hand

  • @blushamu watch how high his hand gets at first. looks like a handshake to me

  • @thISxTHplacE Hipster nigger.

  • @thISxTHplacE He was just too tired to notice. I wouldn't notice my own skin if I ran that.

  • @thISxTHplacE I know he shoulda punched him

  • @thISxTHplacE no man... the kenyan´s was so tired that he didn´t see the hand of the american...

  • @thISxTHplacE I don't know if it was bad sportsmanship, or his just dead tired.

  • what a legend !

  • No question -- my ALL time favorite race. From last to first. BAM.

  • I remember watching this race as it happened. It was thrilling! That last 100 meters seemed like it lasted forever.

  • Even till 775 meters, it doesn't look like he can do it.

  • He took Steroids yo I could beat this fag

  • @TeHBaZe Fag? I have a cell phone video of you wearing lavender underwear and swinging from a trapeze.

  • @skunkface24 fuck u u dirty mexican u would say that

  • @TeHBaZe STFU. David Wottle was a clean athlete ... and, what is more, he was a great one.

  • Congratulations Dave! The entire country celebrated with you!!!!!!

  • the last man to ever win a gold medal in a running event with a hat...

  • One of the Most amazing Races ever Run

  • "on behalf of skinny guys everywhere I'd like to congratulate him" lol legendary stuff.

  • 11 people don't appreciate the golf cap

  • Respond to this video... 

  • a true legend

  • Greatest. Kick. Ever.

  • @MissingSirius His last 100m was not that fast. 13.0, and his last 200m was 26.1. It looked faster because everyone else was slowing down rapidly at the end.

  • Respond to this video...

  • Respond to this video...

    

  • Respond to this video... 

  • Respond to this video... 

  • Respond to this video... 

  • Respond to this video... 

  • That was crazy. best run i ever seen

  • fucking amazing.

  • Wonderful running! and with a hat!