Dave Wottle ran for US national team just once?

Not sure what point you're trying to make. He joined a pro track circuit so he was ineligible to run in the Olympics afterward. The circuit didn't last long so yeah he got a bad deal

fethi wrote:

Note: Pre only ran two international championships.

He also died at 24, so there's that...

He wasn't very good. That video makes him seem faster than he really was.

Realitiz wrote:

He wasn't very good. That video makes him seem faster than he really was.

Good point! I mean how hard is it to change the playback speed of a video?

Two main things that shortened his career:

1. He had bad knees.

2. Amateurism was law of the land when he was in his prime.

Realitiz wrote:

He wasn't very good. That video makes him seem faster than he really was.

Only on letsrun is someone "not that good" when he only tied the 800m world record at the time and had a 1500 and mile PB of 3:36 and 3:53. Not Sure what that was at the time, but pretty sure those 1500 and mile times at the time were probably in the top 5 for all time Americans at the time.

fethi wrote:

Other than Munich when did Dave Wottle ever represent USA internationally?

Not a put down, just to show how spoiled you young punks are today.

Note: Pre only ran two international championships.

What other international events were there? Some dual meets with the soviets? There just weren't a lot of international competitions back then and when your career was often only 1 olympic cycle, you had your one chance and moved on.

I had the pleasure of meeting Wottle when he spoke to my high school team 30 years ago. Decent straightforward guy. i have nothing but respect for him.

sdafsadfadsdf wrote:

fethi wrote:

Other than Munich when did Dave Wottle ever represent USA internationally?

Not a put down, just to show how spoiled you young punks are today.

Note: Pre only ran two international championships.

What other international events were there? Some dual meets with the soviets? There just weren't a lot of international competitions back then and when your career was often only 1 olympic cycle, you had your one chance and moved on.

1969 Pan Pacific Games

1971 Pan American Games

1972 Olympic Games

1973 Pan Pacific Games

1975 Pan American Games

1976 Olympic Games

1977 World Cup

This does not include various international dual meets (1971 USA vs USSR vs Commonwealth or 1971 USA vs Africa) or 1974 USA vs USSR or all those USA vs USSR indoors meets Richmond, VA.

There are plenty of other examples. My point is Rick Wohlhuter competed in most all of these international CHAMPIONSHIPS I have listed.

With international championships being such a rarity why wouldn't even the Pan Pacific championships been considered a gem to compete in? And please don't use today's standard; use 1971's.

In 1971 AAU had to go all the way down to Tarry Harrison to find an American who would compete against Viren, Jipcho, Ian Stewart in Munich Pre-Olympic.

Still, no one has shown me where Dave Wottle ever wore the US national uniform other than Munich. Did he?

fethi wrote:

Other than Munich when did Dave Wottle ever represent USA internationally?

Not a put down, just to show how spoiled you young punks are today.

Note: Pre only ran two international championships.

Back then there were fewer opportunities to run internationally.

Amateur rules prevented athletes from hopping on a plane and going to Europe without a release from the organization.

And we had to make a living. FFS.

And did I mention we were amateurs?

Not sure about Wottle but the hat deserved a longer career

Realitiz wrote:

He wasn't very good. That video makes him seem faster than he really was.

Right. That video was video shopped. Just like the Zapruder film. That bullet was barely moving but they made it look like Kennedy could not get out of the way.

Injured in 1971

'72 we know about

'73 won NCAA mile; didn't particularly like training and competing after college

'74 hooked on with ITA but never felt it was competitive enough and it folded. Wottle essentially retired from the sport in 1973.

Tony Waldrop with an Olympic title.

sillyman wrote:

fethi wrote:

Other than Munich when did Dave Wottle ever represent USA internationally?

Not a put down, just to show how spoiled you young punks are today.

Note: Pre only ran two international championships.

Back then there were fewer opportunities to run internationally.

Amateur rules prevented athletes from hopping on a plane and going to Europe without a release from the organization.

And we had to make a living. FFS.

And did I mention we were amateurs?

The Kiwis and Aussies competed in Europe under more exacting conditions than Americans did. Dwight Stones competed in Europe many years. They all seemed to manage.

So, Dave Wottle has still only run for US once...........correct?

Yes

Until the mid- to late-70s, sport of the sort Wottle did was for your youth and then you quit and joined the workforce. If you didn’t you were an oddball or, worse, a slacker hippie.

It’s why we weren’t particularly good at events that took longer to develop talent (5k & longer) and why a “respectable” guy like Yaley/law student Frank Shorter changed attitudes by continuing to run. People today don’t understand how deeply ingrained the “live to work” attitude was and how soon you were expected to fulfill it.

fethi wrote:

Other than Munich when did Dave Wottle ever represent USA internationally?

Not a put down, just to show how spoiled you young punks are today.

Note: Pre only ran two international championships.

What was Pre's 2nd?

1955 wrote:

fethi wrote:

Other than Munich when did Dave Wottle ever represent USA internationally?

Not a put down, just to show how spoiled you young punks are today.

Note: Pre only ran two international championships.

What was Pre's 2nd?

Pan Am Games '71