TicketsSept. 15, 2008
CINCINNATI - Former University of Cincinnati track athletes and 2008 Olympic medalists, Mary Wineberg and David Payne, will lead the World's Largest Chicken Dance at Noon on Fountain Square in Downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, September 20 as part of the 33rd annual Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati. The event will be held along six blocks of Fifth Street in Downtown Cincinnati.
Payne and Wineberg became the sixth and seventh Bearcats, respectively, to win medals at the Olympics. Wineberg took home a gold medal for her part in the women's 4x400-meter relay, while Payne walked away with a silver medal in the 110-meter hurdles. Wineberg became the fourth Bearcat to win a gold medal, joining Oscar Robertson (1960 men's basketball), George Wilson (1964 men's basketball) and Jenny Kemp (4x100 freestyle relay - swimming).
Wineberg and Payne are the third and fourth sports figures, respectively, to lead the World's Largest Chicken Dance. The other two sports figures to direct the dance were Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson in 2006 and the "Ol' Lefthander," Joe Nuxhall, last year.
Others that have led the Chicken Dance include Eddie Money, Verne Troyer from "Austin Powers", Davy Jones from The Monkees, Tony Orlando, Grammy Award-Winner Weird Al-Yankovic, and the Crown Prince of Bavaria.