Golf Caps and Olympic Dreams

I have been running since the summer of 1972. That was the summer of the Games of the Twentieth Olympiad, hosted in Munich, West Germany. Most will recall those games for the heinous murders of the Israeli wrestlers and weightlifters by PLO terrorists. Many running pundits claim that it was Frank Shorter's victory in those Games - the first victory in the Marathon by a US athlete since Johnny Hayes won it in 1908 - that ignited the running boom of the 1970s. Others will recall the incredible performance by the 21-year-old phenom from the University of Oregon, Steve Prefontaine, in the men's 5000m final. Even though Pre finished in fourth place, his stirring surge in the final mile - a distance he covered in a remarkable time of 4:01 -  was perhaps the greatest, gutsiest, non-medal-winning performance in an Olympic competition I have ever seen. For me, however, it was the performance of a relatively unknown, golf-cap wearing, middle-distance runner that ignited my running career.

The runner's name was Dave Wottle. He was an 800m and 1500m runner from Bowling Green State University. Since little was known about track and field athletes in those days, Jim McKay never mentioned that Wottle had equaled the world record for the 800ms (1:44.3!) at the US Olympic Trials earlier that summer. Nor did anyone note that Dave was the NCAA 1500 Champion in 1972. I didn't know if he was a long shot to win or the favorite. I just thought he was interesting because he was a tall and skinny guy who wore a golf cap when he ran!

ABC Sports did a great job of covering both the semi-final race and the final race. Wottle came from behind in both races. In fact, he was totally boxed in along the rail in the semi-final with 100m to go and somehow managed an escape that would have made Harry Houdini proud. But the performance in the final was truly the stuff of legends.

After the race, Wottle became temporarily notorious for NOT removing his golf cap during the playing of the national anthem at the medal ceremony, but he later apologized, claiming he had been so overwhelmed with joy that he completely forgot to remove the headgear! I have included a youtube link to a high quality video of the race for all to see. It is incredible how much ground Wottle gives up to some of the best 800m runners of his day ... and still he finds a way to get to the finish line first!

So, I began running in the summer of 1972. I was just another short, scrawny, eleven-year-old who dreamed of one day running in the Olympic Games.

Keep on running.