Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres

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Men's 800 metres
at the Games of the XX Olympiad
Mike Boit, Dave Wottle, Yevhen Arzhanov 1972.jpg
Left-right: Mike Boit, Dave Wottle, Yevhen Arzhanov
Venue Olympic Stadium
DatesSeptember 2, 1972
Competitors61 from 46 nations
Winning time1:45.86
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Dave Wottle
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Yevhen Arzhanov
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Bronze medal icon.svg Mike Boit
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
  1968
1976  

The men's 800 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, took place on 2 September 1972. [1] Sixty-one athletes from 46 nations competed. [2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at three since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.03 seconds by Dave Wottle of the United States, the first title in the event for an American since 1956 and the eighth overall win in the men's 800 metres for the United States. Yevhen Arzhanov won the Soviet Union's first medal in the event with silver, while Mike Boit kept Kenya on the podium for the third straight Games with bronze.

Until the 2024 Olympic final, Wottle's winning margin of 0.03 seconds was the narrowest in the men's 800 meters at the Olympics since the introduction of fully automatic timing.

Summary

The race went out very quickly for the first 200 m, with the two Kenyans, Boit and Ouko, pushing the pace. Wottle lagged far behind the rest of the field for the first 300 m, only catching up to the pack around the end of the first lap; the leaders went through the opening lap in 52.3 seconds. Yevhen Arzhanov, the pre-race favorite, made a strong move on the final backstretch, and with only 18 m remaining seemed to have clinched the victory; Wottle's final burst of speed, however, brought him across the line nine inches (23 cm) ahead of Arzhanov, who fell in desperation in the final step of the race.

Much has been written about Wottle's technique in winning this race with virtually even 26 second splits. What looked like blazing speed at the end was relative to the other runners who were losing speed after running the first part of the race so fast. [3] [4]

Wottle had equaled the world record winning the US trials. Still, few had expected Wottle, who had suffered tendinitis in his knees earlier that summer, to defeat Arzhanov, as the Soviet had not lost an 800 m final in four years; Wottle himself was so surprised at winning the race that he forgot to remove his golf cap when the U.S. national anthem was played at the medal ceremony. When reporters later asked him if his failure to remove the cap, a good luck charm which he always wore while racing, was a protest against the Vietnam War, Wottle replied that he had merely forgotten and formally apologized to the American people. [5]

Background

This was the 17th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the 1968 medalists returned, but the four finalists placed from fourth to seventh did: Walter Adams of West Germany, Jozef Plachý of Czechoslovakia, Dieter Fromm of East Germany, and Thomas Saisi of Kenya. Yevhen Arzhanov of the Soviet Union, who had reached but did not start in the semifinals in 1968, had been dominant in the intervening four years, including wins at the 1971 European and European indoor championships. Dave Wottle had matched the world record at the U.S. Olympic trials, but was not completely healthy. [2]

Algeria, Burma, the Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Panama, Romania, Somalia, Togo, and Zambia appeared in the event for the first time. Great Britain and the United States each made their 16th appearance, tied for the most among all nations.

Competition format

The competition used the three-round format that had been in use for most Games since 1912. The "fastest loser" system introduced in 1964 was used for the semifinals. There were eight first-round heats, each with 8 athletes (before withdrawals); the top three runners in each heat advanced to the semifinals. There were three semifinals with 8 athletes each; the top two runners in each semifinal, and the next two fastest overall, advanced to the eight-man final. [2] [6]

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World recordFlag of New Zealand.svg  Peter Snell  (NZL)1:44.3 Christchurch, New Zealand 2 February 1962
Olympic recordFlag of Australia.svg  Ralph Doubell  (AUS)1:44.3 Mexico City, Mexico 15 October 1968

No world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

DateTimeRound
Thursday, 31 August 197215:00Round 1
Friday, 1 September 197216:00Semifinals
Saturday, 2 September 197217:00Final

Results

Round 1

Qualification rule: First 3 of each heat advance directly (Q) to the semifinals.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Alain Sans Flag of France.svg  France 1:49.2Q
2 Mansour Guettaya Flag of Tunisia (1959-1999).svg  Tunisia 1:49.4Q
3 Azzedine Azzouzi Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:49.4Q
4 Rick Wohlhuter Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:49.4
5 Reza Entezari State Flag of Iran (1964-1980).svg  Iran 1:50.5
6 Édouard Rasoanaivo Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar 1:50.8
7 Alphonse Mandonda Flag of the People's Republic of Congo.svg  Republic of the Congo 1:51.2
Mohamed AbokerFlag of Somalia.svg  Somalia DSQ

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Robert Ouko Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:47.4Q
2 Jože Međimurec Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg  Yugoslavia 1:48.1Q
3 Yevhen Volkov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 1:48.6Q
4 Fernando Mamede Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 1:48.6
5 Mohamed Sid Ali Djouadi Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:50.4
6 Colin Campbell Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:54.8
7 Francisco Menocal Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 1:58.6
8 Thomas Howe Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberia 2:00.7

Heat 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Franz-Josef Kemper Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 1:47.3Q
2 Dave Cropper Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:47.5Q
3 Rolf Gysin Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1:47.5Q
4 Roqui Sanchez Flag of France.svg  France 1:47.9
5 Thomas Saisi Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:48.5
6 András Zsinka Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 1:49.0
7 Daniel Andrade Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 1:53.9
Saad Maaz AbdulrazakFlag of Saudi Arabia (1938-1973).svg  Saudi Arabia DNS

Heat 4

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Mulugetta Tadesse Flag of Ethiopia (1897-1974).svg  Ethiopia 1:47.1Q
2 Dave Wottle Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:47.6Q
3 Josef Schmid Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 1:47.8Q
4 Graeme Rootham Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 1:48.2
5 Lennox Stewart Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 1:48.7
6 Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 1:50.8
7 Roger Kangni Flag of Togo.svg  Togo 1:52.1
M'Hamad Amakdouf Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco DNS

Heat 5

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Yevhen Arzhanov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 1:48.3Q
2 Andrzej Kupczyk Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 1:48.5Q
3 Nimir Hussein Angelo Koko Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 1:48.9Q
4 Gheorghe Ghipu Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg  Romania 1:50.1
5 Carlos Dalurzo Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 1:50.6
6 Héctor López Flag of Venezuela (1954-2006).png  Venezuela 1:50.8
Walter Adams Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany DNF
Antonio Fernández Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain DSQ

Heat 6

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Dieter Fromm Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 1:46.9Q
2 Jozef Plachý Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 1:47.1Q
3 Manuel Gayoso Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 1:47.5Q
4 Sriram Singh Flag of India.svg  India 1:47.7
5 Francis Gonzalez Flag of France.svg  France 1:48.8
6 Mehmet Tümkan Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 1:49.5
7 Kassem Hamzé Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 1:52.5
8 Harry Nkopeka Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 1:57.7

Heat 7

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Mike Boit Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:47.3Q
2 Herman Mignon Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1:47.5Q
3 Andy Carter Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:47.6Q
4 Byron Dyce Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 1:48.0
5 Benson Mulomba Flag of Zambia (1964-1996).svg  Zambia 1:53.4
6 Jimmy Crampton Flag of Burma (1948-1974).svg  Burma 1:54.2
7 Fritz Pierre Flag of Haiti (1964-1986).svg  Haiti 2:01.5
Franco Arese Flag of Italy.svg  Italy DNS

Heat 8

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Ivan Ivanov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 1:51.0Q
2 Ken Swenson Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:51.1Q
3 Francis Murphy Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 1:51.1Q
4 Sjef Hensgens Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1:51.2
5 Donaldo Arza Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 1:51.2
6 Jaiye Abidoye Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 1:52.0
7 Muhammad Siddique Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 1:52.6
8 Shibrou Regassa Flag of Ethiopia (1897-1974).svg  Ethiopia 1:53.3

Semifinals

Qualification rule: First 2 of each semifinal (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advance to the final.

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Robert Ouko Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:47.6Q
2 Dieter Fromm Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 1:48.1Q
3 Dave Cropper Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:48.4
4 Josef Schmid Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 1:48.8
5 Francis Murphy Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 1:49.2
6 Azzedine Azzouzi Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1:49.4
7 Alain Sans Flag of France.svg  France 1:49.6
8 Yevgeniy Volkov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 1:50.1

Semifinal 2

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Dave Wottle Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:48.7Q
2 Franz-Josef Kemper Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 1:48.8Q
3 Jozef Plachý Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 1:48.9
4 Jože Međimurec Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg  Yugoslavia 1:49.0
5 Ivan Ivanov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 1:49.6
6 Herman Mignon Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1:49.7
7 Mansour Guettaya Flag of Tunisia (1959-1999).svg  Tunisia 1:49.8
8 Nimir Hussein Angelo Koko Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 1:51.1

Semifinal 3

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
1 Mike Boit Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:45.9Q
2 Yevhen Arzhanov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 1:46.3Q
3 Andy Carter Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:46.5q
4 Andrzej Kupczyk Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 1:46.7q
5 Manuel Gayoso Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 1:47.7
6 Rolf Gysin Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1:48.2
7 Mulugetta Tadesse Flag of Ethiopia (1897-1974).svg  Ethiopia 1:48.9
Ken Swenson Flag of the United States.svg  United States DNF

Final

Franz-Josef Kemper (left) congratulates the winner Dave Wottle Andrzej Kupczyk and Dave Wottle 1972.jpg
Franz-Josef Kemper (left) congratulates the winner Dave Wottle
RankAthleteNationTime
Gold medal icon.svg Dave Wottle Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1:45.86
Silver medal icon.svg Yevhen Arzhanov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 1:45.89
Bronze medal icon.svg Mike Boit Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:46.01
4 Franz-Josef Kemper Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 1:46.50
5 Robert Ouko Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:46.53
6 Andy Carter Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1:46.55
7 Andrzej Kupczyk Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 1:47.10
8 Dieter Fromm Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 1:47.96

References

  1. "Athletics at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's 800 metres". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "800 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  3. Moore, Blaine (2010-08-20). The Best Olympic 800m Run in History » Dave Wottle in 1972 | Run to Win. News.runtowin.com. Retrieved on 2018-06-12.
  4. Stewart, Shawn (2 August 2012). What We Can Learn from Olympic Gold Medalist, Dave Wottle Archived 2017-12-22 at the Wayback Machine . Classical Conversations. Retrieved on 2018-06-12.
  5. Aatish Taseer (5 August 2004). "Too Close To Call". Time. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  6. Official Report, p. 51.