Dave Wottle (The Hat) wins Olympic 800 – September 2, 1972

Dave Wottle always wore an old golf cap when he trained and competed, and this made him immediately recognisable in the opening rounds of the 800m at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich (see photo above). In the final, Wottle immediately dropped to the rear of the field, and stayed there for the first 600m, at which point he started his characteristic late drive, passing runner after runner up the straight, and finally grabbing the lead in the final metres to win by just 0.03sec. At the victory ceremony, Wottle had unconsciously forgotten to remove his golf cap. This was interpreted as a form of protest, which drew a tearful apology to the American people from Wottle when he was questioned about it at a press conference. Read more, sporting-heroes.net.

Dave Wottle wins Olympic 800 1972

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