Rick Wohlhuter (born December 23, 1948) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

middle-distance runner. Wohlhuter won the national indoor championship in the 600 yards in 1970. He graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in 1971, and later qualified for the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and 1976 Olympics. In 1976 he finished sixth in the 1500 meters. In the 800 metres, he was initially disqualified for bumping Seymour Newman in the semi-final, but reinstated on appeal and went on to win the bronze medal, behind

Alberto Juantorena Alberto Juantorena (born 3 December 1950) is a Cuban former runner. He is the only athlete to win both the 400 and 800 m Olympic titles, which he achieved in 1976. He was ranked as world's best runner in the 400 m in 1974 and 1976–1978, a ...

who broke the world record and

Ivo Van Damme Ivo Van Damme (21 February 1954 – 29 December 1976) was a Belgian middle-distance runner. Van Damme played football until he was 16, but then switched to athletics. His breakthrough came in 1973, when he placed fourth in the 800 m at th ...

of Belgium. Wohlhuter was the U.S. national champion for the 800 meters in 1973 and 1974 and was ranked #1 in the world both years by ''

Track & Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running ...

''. Also in 1974, Wohlhuter won the first of three indoor 1000 yard U.S. national titles, set a world record in the 880 yards at 1:44.10 (1:43.5 at 800 meters), and a world record in the 1000 meter event at 2:13.9, which remains the longest standing American outdoor record.1000 Metres – men – senior – outdoor
iaaf.org. Retrieved on July 15, 2015. He won the

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

as the nation's top amateur athlete for his achievements in 1974. Wohlhuter retired in 1977. He contemplated a comeback in 1980, but reconsidered after learning about the American boycott of the Moscow Olympics. He began working in the insurance business instead.

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* * Wohlhuter at the 1976 US. Olympic Trials @ 29:25
1948 births Living people People from St. Charles, Illinois American male middle-distance runners Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) James E. Sullivan Award recipients Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's track and field athletes Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub