How fast was Dave Wottle in high school?

It was Todd LatherS from U. Oregon. At 1971 Pac 8 meet 8:40.4.

Your memory still not bad.

Getting back to Dave Wottle - can anyone find results for him of European races (even including Munich warm-up meets) between the Trials and the Olympics? Americans ran the Bislett meet in Oslo, and Mel Brodt had mentioned a Russian meet, and someone had mentioned a slow 3k race in Munich.

Also, what did Dave W. run in the London meet after Munich? Believe he ran the mile there. Finding full and complete results for him is a challenge.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, this is Dave Wottle. This is the first time I have posted to this website but I wanted to clear up some misinformation in the posts as well as respond to a few of the questions. First of all, everyone is right, there's no way I could bench press 300 pounds (even with a concave chest as someone noted). My best bench press was 150 pounds. I lifted weights all through high school and college. As much as I hate to disagree with the best man at my wedding and college roommate Rick Schnittker, my training log says on Monday, May 7, 1973 I did three repeat 2 miles in 10:00, 9:40, and 9:17.5. My best 2 mile time was 8:40.0 at an indoor meet at Eastern Michigan in March of 1973.

Before I talk about my races before the Olympics, please keep in mind that I developed tendonitis in my left knee after not warming up properly and running a difficult workout (to try to impress Coach Bowerman) on my first day in training camp at Bowdoin College on June 21. My mileage was scheduled to be 70 to 85 miles per week at that time and my first week after the injury amounted to only 19 miles and the second 22 miles. All that to say, I was far off of the conditioning I had prior to the Olympic Trials and well beyond my peak once the Olympics were over. No excuses...I just want to keep things in perspective.

As far as my races between the Olympic Trials and the Games, I ran three 800 meter races in Bergen and Stockholm, placing second to Rick Wolhuter in the first two and winning the third. Times were 1:48ish. I also did a 5000 meter training run in a town south of Munich in 14:51.

My progression in the mile was 4:51.5 HS freshman, 4:38.5 HS sophomore, 4:22.4 HS junior, 4:20.2 HS senior, 4:06.8 College freshman, 3:59.0 College sophomore, 3:39.7 1500 College junior year, and 3.53.3/3:36.2 College senior year. Half mile: 2:11.2 HS freshman, 2:04.0 HS sophomore, 2:00.0 HS junior, 1:59.3 HS senior, 4:06.8 College freshman, 3:59.0 College sophomore, 3:39.7 1500 College junior year, and 3.53.3/3:36.2 College senior year.

Thanks for chiming in Dave Wottle. You are a legend. I was sad to see that Jim Ferstle died in 2022. You surely knew him. I knew him a little bit. He seemed to have a strong love for the sport.

DAVE WOTTLE IS IN THE HOUSE!

Would you be willing to have LRC's Jon Gault interview you?

I love it when legends take the time to reply on the boards. Thank you, Mr. Wottle.

Thirty+ years ago my high school cross country coach showed the team a film of Wottle's gold medal run at the end of which the man himself, who had been sitting in the back, spoke to us. Really humble, straightforward, and inspiring guy.

You knew about this quote 7 years ago??? Wow some people are so knowledgeable

You didn't happen to go to Westminster in Atlanta did you?

Love it! Thanks so much for posting! - Sincerely, Everyone

i'm old enough i competed on some cinder tracks -- and even slid across one after tagging the last hurdle in a race -- and trained on a dirt oval. i remember digging around the cleat bin at school for hard as rocks spikes to wear. equipment and tracks have massively improved.

also, wottle struck me as, like many of our recent runners from the 2010s era, kind of a heat machine come from behind type. guy i know once posted a wottle race as a "never give up" inspirational item. i DMd my friend that, dude, that's how he raced. net effect, he's not setting the 800 record or doing an incredible 1600. he's the guy who wins controlled pace races. if you put him in monaco DL with a rabbit and the fastest no-fear 800 runners he'd finish last. he was suited to heat match racing. no one goes fast and we kick to the line at the end.

Dave Wottle, thanks for filling in the gaps - especially between Trials and Munich Olympics.

You did not post your HS pure speed times = 200 meters and 400 meters.

Could you do that as well please.

Mel Brodt BGSU was huge on form drills, yes? Is it true Mel Brodt would have you do form drills mid-point during a workout? So, form drills prior, form drills during, form drills after?

Dave Wottle, you are not being charged by the word, so feel free to be expansive.

Thanks again.

Thanks for posting on here, Dave Wottle. I watched the Munich 800 on TV in 1972 and was cheering you on as you picked off one runner after another and then really opened it up in the homestretch. Your tendonitis might have caused you to reign in your effort in the first lap while the rest of the field ran too fast. I think it was Bill Bowerman who predicted you would not win because you had recently married. You proved him wrong!

In an interview a few years ago, you said that the silver medalist, Yevhen Arzhanov, began his kick too soon, which caused him to tie up a bit before the finish. He did start to kick with about 280 meters to go, which was a tactical error.

But he also got fouled by Dieter Fromm of East Germany at about 150 meters into the race, which caused him to stumble from the lead position to sixth in a couple of seconds.

Sharp elbows have always been a feature of racing in Europe. But do you think Dieter Fromm simply had it in for Arzhanov? I think Fromm knew he couldn't win that day (he did finish last) and that he wanted to try to keep archrival Arzhanov from winning. As you suggested elsewhere, Arzhanov was his own worst enemy by kicking too soon. But do you think the foul from Fromm would have had any impact on his performance? It might've actually helped if it forced him to slow down.

I should've written "rein" it in. Not "reign." Sorry.

Wottle ran most of his HS season on cruddy cinder tracks, w little competition , few Ohio athletes within 5s in 1mi. And his 1:54 on a cruddy cinder track likely solo is easily <1:52 on a all weather surface w a stronger field.

Wottle was fit in final ncaa season …8:29 in a workout is doable for an athlete on his way to gold and <3:33 1500 capability.

It was great to read Dave Wottle’s comments (even if it was on a seven-year old post!). Some Bowling Green State University history:
In the late 1960s to early 1970s, the National Jaycees (along with the US Track & Field Federation) sponsored the National Junior Champ Invitational meet for both high school boys and girls, gathering the qualifying state Jaycee meet winners. In both 1970 and 1971 (which I attended), the national meet was held at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH. Some highlights:
1970 – (July 31-August 1)
New York sent the largest high school contingent (19), with Colorado and Ohio both with 17. For the Boys by state: MI scored 72, WA 61, and NY 50.
For the Girls by state: KS scored 60 points, MI 41, WI 35, MN 24, SD 18,
and OK 17.
·
Some notable (then) high school names include
Fred Singleton (NY – won HH/LH); Tinker Hatfield (OR- won PV); Marshall Dill (MI – won 100/220); Randy Smith (KS – won HJ).
·
The 880 yd dash was won by Steve Groom (NY-1:55) and Pam Bagian (MI – 2:16); the mile was won by Kevin Reabe (MI – 4:16.3). No girls mile run.
·
A meet write-up article noted that Reabe, who won the mile was also the MI state HS 880 champion. Mike Pierce who was the MI State HS mile champion placed third in the 880 yd. “Neither could double in their events during their high school years because of a
Michigan high school rule which limits distance runners to one event.”

=====

1971 –(July 30-31) Do not have the state entries or totals, but the combined (boys and girls) WA scored 38 (although they had no girls entered) , NY 28, CA and MI 26, and OH and CO 19.
·
Notable high school names at the 1971 meet include Charles Foster (SC – won HH/LH); Garrade Pettis or Pettus (MI- won HJ)
·
The 880 was won by Anthony De Veney (CA); the mile was won by Kim McMullen (NY – 4:21.4); the two-mile by Scott Daggett (WA – 9:14.8). Again, no girls mile or two-mile.
·
On July 30th, a Banquet of Champions was held in the BGSU Grand Ballroom – University Union with main speakers Jesse Owens and Dave Albritton (1936 Olympics HJ silver medalist).
Also, although I have participated in masters track and field since my mid-30s, I have only competed against one these now same age-group athletes and that was in 1989 against Lee Braach (WA), who placed 6th in the HJ at the 1971 National Jaycee meet.
Anyone else have any memories of these national meets?

No offense but Dave was not capable of doing 8:29 at the end of a hard workout and he admitted that it was 9:17. Some of you really have no idea about this sort of thing.

I love it when legends post here. Dave Wottle's Olympic gold continues to be the most amazing comeback in Olympic history. That race continues to inspire generations. Given the sorry state of things in American distance running from the late '80s until essentially the 2010s, it was almost unbelievable that Americans could even be competitive for medals. The one men's distance exception was the 800m in the 1990s. There was Mark Everett, bronze in 1991; Johnny Gray, bronze in 1992; and Rich Kenah, bronze, 1997; then nothing until Nick Symmonds's silver in 2013.

This link has part of the Wottle segment from that documentary: