“The Greatest Comeback in Athletics History”: Dave Wottle on Winning Olympic 800m Gold by 0.03 Seconds, Tying the World Record in a “Speed Workout,” and the Mile Against Pre He Still Regrets

The hat made the Hall of Fame before he did. 

Dave Wottle’s white golf cap was a freebie handed to meet officials while he was injured in 1971, and it went into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame four years ahead of its owner.

Dominic sits down with the 1972 Olympic 800m champion, still the last American man to win the event. Their conversation starts with a shy Canton freshman who almost walked away from the track sign-up, and ends with the photo finish in Munich, when his name flashed first on the scoreboard. Wottle explains why he always considered himself a miler. He also tells how an 800 he ran purely as a speed workout ended in a tied world record he didn’t know existed, and what it felt like when Roger Bannister stopped him on his jog back to the village.

He revisits Bill Bowerman’s “traded a gold medal for a wife” jab and the chance flight that turned it into a dinner invitation. He talks about the 1973 Hayward mile against Steve Prefontaine, which he still regrets not racing for the record. He also looks back on the short-lived pro circuit, the U.S. middle-distance revival, Cooper Lutkenhaus, and the faith that grounded him.

Fifty-four years later, the autograph requests still arrive every week. Wottle’s final message is a gift to every runner: find the talent you’ve been given, do the work, and trust that the lessons this sport teaches stay with you long after the last race.

Tap into the Dave Wottle Special. 

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