Tuesday, June 9, 2009

An Amazing Race (800m Final, 1972 Oympics)


There is no question, YouTube is the biggest waster of time for a computer user today… Once you get there, you start watching video after video, non-stop. Eventually you find yourself watching videos that you shouldn’t be watching :) and wonder where the time went….

I don’t remember how, but I found myself watching running-related videos. I ran into this amazing 800m finals in the 1972 Olympics in Munich Germany: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k

I remember watching the Olympics in Greece as a kid, and I remember Dave Wottle and his famous cap. I also remember the scandal when he kept the cap on during the National Anthem in the Award’s Ceremony.

It is interesting that Dave is a local guy, from Canton OH. I did a bit of digging and found that today he is the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Rhodes College Looks like he has gained a bit of weight :)

I also watched parts of the 5K and 10K races in the ’72 and ’76 Olympics, all 4 won by the “flying Finn”, Lasse Viren.

Finally, I saw the 2004 Olympics 800m race (in Athens, I was there, but I don't remember this one) and it is a carbon copy of the 1972 race! Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWsAACwEki4

Actually, YouTube is a fantastic resource, if used wisely.

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