While at Notre Dame, Rick Wohlhuter won the 1971 IC4A 880 y and in 1972, after placing second to Dave Wottle at both the AAU and the Final Trials, he seemed a certain Olympic finalist and possible medalist. Sadly he fell in the 800 m heats in München, but at the Montréal Games he won the bronze medal in the 800 m and placed sixth in the 1,500 m. Between his two Olympic appearances, Wohlhuter set a U.S. 800 m record of 1:43.9 in 1973 and, in that race, he continued to the 880 y mark where he set a world record of 1:44.6. In 1974 he brought the world 880 y record down to 1:44.1 and set a world 1,000 m record of 2:13.9. In both 1973 and 1974 he was the AAU champion and he won the AAU indoor 1000 y for three years straight from 1974. After retiring from track in 1977, he contemplated a comeback in 1980, but the boycott dashed those hopes. He then began a career in the insurance industry.
Personal Bests: 440y – 48.5 (1970); 800 – 1:43.4y (1974); 1500 – 3:36.4 (1975); Mile – 3:53.3 (1975).
United States