Sunday, June 08, 2008

A Great Olympic Moment, A Great Jim McKay Moment

Lest anyone think that Jim McKay was just a studio host, listen to him here, at his absolute best, covering Dave Wottle's improbable gold medal victory in the 800 meter race at the 1972 Munich Olympics.



This post also doubles as a new feature, "Great Olympic Moments," in preparation for the Summer Games later this year from China. And this was certainly one of the greatest. Wottle had set the World Record at the Olympic trials, but was far from the favorite in this race. Russian Yevgeny Arzhanov had not lost an 800-meter race in four years, and the Kenyans - Boit and Ouko - were seasoned veterans of the legendary Kenyan distance running machine. Wottle's trademark was the golf cap, which he forgot - to his immense embarrassment - to remove as the National Anthem played after he was awarded his medal.

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