Still a mind blowing comeback. David Wottle

[Westerly Wood]

Just incredible.

 

[Cougar]

Way to go, Dave! Without a microsecond to spare!

 

[bobouz]

Yes, as a longtime track fan, I watched that race unfolding at the time & could hardly believe it - One of the best EVER!

 

[MLBob]

Ay Ziggy!!
Four of our kids are BGSU grads. All Summa Cum Laude.

 

[Stuball48]

Way to go, Dave! Without a microsecond to spare!

Yes, as a longtime track fan, I watched that race unfolding at the time & could hardly believe it - One of the best EVER!

I, too, watched it live and still get a cold chill or two watching the replay.

 

[Teleguy61]

How did he do that?

 

[Cougar]

How did he do that?

He ran faster than the other guys.

 

[Ancientax]

Dave had another gear at the end ! Sort of like this guy , still the greatest performance I’ve ever witnessed .

 

[Prince of Darkness]

How did he do that?

I do wonder if the other runners actually set off a bit too fast? The crucial thing was that he didn't panic and just gradually closed the gap. In the end though, he just had that bit more sprinting speed

 

[bobouz]

Dave had another gear at the end ! Sort of like this guy , still the greatest performance I’ve ever witnessed .

Oh yes, this one is a thrill to watch every time, and I can’t even count how many times I’ve watched it! No horse has ever come close to this incredible performance. Thanks for prompting me to watch it yet again.

 

[HeyMikey]

Oh I remember that race very clearly. In high school as a freshman that same year I ran cross country and the 880. My track coach would often have one of the newer guys be the sacrificial lamb or the “rabbit” as he called it. The plan was to send the rabbit out at a fast start to get the other team off their pace. Our best would maintain their proper pace, fall behind a bit, and then have a strong kick at the end. The rabbit would peter out and the others who tried to keep the fast pace had nothing left for the finish. Essentially, the Wottle strategy.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Oh I remember that race very clearly. In high school as a freshman that same year I ran cross country and the 880. My track coach would often have one of the newer guys be the sacrificial lamb or the “rabbit” as he called it. The plan was to send the rabbit out at a fast start to get the other team off their pace. Our best would maintain their proper pace, fall behind a bit, and then have a strong kick at the end. The rabbit would peter out and the others who tried to keep the fast pace had nothing left for the finish. Essentially, the Wottle strategy.

That’s cool Mikey. I think Wottle though was worried immediately he had lost it. His strategy was genius in the end but in hearing him talk about it, he didn’t mean to fall back that far. He was in better shape than all of them to do what he did. And that move he made, to squeeze n between like the 6th and 7th runner was brilliant. He was like running thru rain drops.

 

[HeyMikey]

What Wottle did was to stick to his game plan and not get caught up in the moment. He was smart and had discipline.

 

[bobouz]

In a race as short as the 800, and in the Olympic final where everyone who’s made it through to the final is fast, it would typically be considered a near suicidal scenario to fall as far behind as he did. Wottle stated he was concerned to lose contact to the extent that he did & rightfully so. He ran brilliantly to make his way back through the pack, and he always had a great finishing kick - which pushed him into contention as the fellow in front fell crossing the line. A thrilling come from behind victory, but just barely - and highly doubtful that it was the core of Wottle’s pre-race game plan!

 

[Midnight Toker]

How did he do that?

Seems the rest of the pack blew out of the gate with an unsustainable pace. Just like in horse racing, cross country skiing, Tour de France, you name it…the breakaway race leaders at the 3/4 mark hardly ever win the race.

 

[HeyMikey]

There is a lot of strategy in racing, regardless of who or what is racing. I remember in HS even we had people placed around the track keeping time to signal if you were on pace, too slow or too fast.