Rick Wohlhuter (born December 23, 1948) is a retired American 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; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

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, ...

and 1976 Olympics. In 1976 he finished sixth in the 1500 meters. In the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

, 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 who broke the world record and Ivo Van Damme 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''. 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 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 Sportspeople 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 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub