Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine helped inspire the "running boom" in the 1970s along with contemporaries Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers. Born and raised in Coos Bay, Oregon, Prefontaine was primarily a long-distance runner who once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2000 meters to the 10,000 meters.[1] Prefontaine died at the age of 24 in a car accident.
Marshfield High School (1966–1970)
As a freshman at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon, Prefontaine found some success in cross country. With help from the Marshfield cross country coach, Walt McClure, he placed 53rd in the Oregon state meet. During his freshman year, Prefontaine established relatively modest personal bests of 5:01 in the mile and 10:08 in the two mile. Determined to improve, Prefontaine undertook a high-mileage training plan during the summer, and placed sixth in the year-end state meet.
His sophomore season was unspectacular, with the exception of the district cross country meet, where Prefontaine stayed close with the state mile and cross country champions. He continued rigorous training at the end of the cross country season in preparation for track. He followed up with a 4:31 indoor mile, but his fourth-place finish in that spring's district track meet failed to qualify him for the high school state meet in his primary event, the two-mile.
Prefontaine's junior and senior years proved highly successful. He won every meet, including the Oregon state championship, and set a national high school record his senior year in the two-mile race with a time of 8:41.5 (breaking Rick Riley's 8:48.3 from 1966). The record that would stand for four years until Craig Virgin broke the record by half a second and was quoted saying he was unimpressed he only broke the national record by a half a second whereas Prefontaine broke the old one by 6.8 seconds.[2]
The Pete Susick Stadium at Marshfield High School dedicated their track to honor Prefontaine in April, 2001. [3]
University of Oregon (1970–1973)
Following high school, Prefontaine enrolled at the University of Oregon to train under coach Bill Bowerman (who in 1964 founded Blue Ribbon Sports, later known as Nike shoe company). After his freshman year, in which he finished third in the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships, he suffered only two more defeats in college (both in the mile), winning three Division I NCAA Cross Country Championships and four straight three-mile/5000-meter titles in track. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
Prefontaine was an aggressive runner, insisting on going out hard and not relinquishing leads. He was quoted as saying, "No one will ever win a 5,000 meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me". He would later state, "I am going to work so that it's a pure guts race. In the end, if it is, I'm the only one that can win it". A local celebrity, chants of "Pre! Pre! Pre!" became a staple at Hayward Field, a mecca for track and field in the USA. Fans wore t-shirts that read "LEGEND", while those who supported other teams wore shirts with the phrase "STOP PRE" printed on a stop sign. Prefontaine gained national attention and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated at age nineteen.
Prefontaine set the American record in the 5000 meters race, the event that took him to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich. In the finals, Prefontaine took the lead in the last mile and ended the slow pace of the first two miles. He held the lead until the last 150 meters before battling for first against Lasse Virén and silver medalist Mohammed Gammoudi. He lost a third place position to Britain's hard-charging Ian Stewart in the last 15 meters of the race, after having led nearly the entire last mile in a toe-to-toe battle with Viren.
Returning for his senior year at the University of Oregon, Prefontaine ended his collegiate career with only three defeats in Eugene, all in the mile. It was during this year that Prefontaine began a protracted fight with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which demanded that athletes who wanted to remain "amateur" for the Olympics not be paid for appearances in track meets. Some viewed this arrangement as unfair because the athletes drew large crowds that generated millions of dollars. At the time, the AAU was taking away amateur status if athletes were endorsed in any way. Because Prefontaine was accepting free clothes and footwear from Nike, he was subject to the AAU's ruling.
Post-collegiate (1974–1975)
Following his collegiate career at Oregon, Prefontaine prepared for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. While running for the Oregon Track Club, Pre was setting American records in every race from 2000 to 10000 meters. [2]
Death
On May 30, 1975, returning from a party and after dropping off friend and distance champion Frank Shorter, Prefontaine was driving down Skyline Boulevard, east of the University of Oregon campus near Hendricks Park, when he swerved his gold 1973 MGB convertible left to avoid crashing into an oncoming car and hit a rock wall along the side of the street. The overturned car trapped Prefontaine underneath it. The first witness on the scene, who lived nearby, heard two cars, and then a crash. When he ran outside, he was almost run over by the second car. The witness found Prefontaine flat on his back, still alive but pinned beneath the wreck. After attempting to lift the vehicle, the witness ran to get help. By the time he returned with others, the weight of the car had crushed Prefontaine's chest, killing him.
Prefontaine is buried at Sunset Memorial Park in Coos Bay, Oregon.
Aftermath
The Eugene Register-Guard called his death "the end of an era". By the time of his death, Prefontaine was a popular athlete who, along with Frank Shorter and Bill Bowerman, was credited with sparking the running boom of the 1970s. His life story has been detailed in two films, 1997's Prefontaine and 1998's Without Limits, as well as the documentary "Fire on the Track". An annual track event, the Pre Classic, has been held in his honor since 1975.
Over his career, he won 120 of the 153 races he ran (78 percent). Prefontaine liked to say, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."
Memorials
Pre's Rock is a memorial at the site of the roadside boulder where Prefontaine died. It is located on one of the hill's "blind" curves which resulted in Prefontaine's fatal car accident. Many runners inspired by Prefontaine leave behind memorabilia to honor his memory and continued influence, such as race numbers, medals, running shoes, etc. Pre's Rock was dedicated in December 1997 and is maintained by Eugene Parks and Recreation as Prefontaine Memorial Park.[4] The rock is just across the Willamette River from the east end of Pre's Trail. The memorial features a plaque with a picture of Prefontaine that reads:
| “ |
For your dedication and loyalty
To your principles and beliefs...
For your love, warmth, and friendship
For your family and friends...
You are missed by so many
And you will never be forgotten... |
” |
The Prefontaine Memorial, featuring a relief of his face, records, and date of birth, is located at the Coos Bay Visitor Center in his hometown.
The Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay contains a section dedicated to Prefontaine. This section includes medals he won during his career and the pair of spikes he wore when setting an American record for the 5,000 meters at Hayward Field.
In 2008, ten memorial plaques were laid along the Prefontaine Memorial Race route, the former training grounds of Prefontaine. The plaques bear an image of Prefontaine from his high school year book and various quotes and records from his time in Coos Bay. The plaques were part of a grant from the Oregon Tourism Commission, the Coos Bay - North Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau, and the Prefontaine Memorial Committee. In the same year, a never before-published letter was shared with the VCB by his high school coach, Walt McClure. The letter was written a couple months before Prefontaine died where he shared his intentions of training for the '76 Olympics.
Each year on the third Saturday of September, over 1000 runners engage in the Prefontaine Memorial Run, a 10k run honoring his accomplishments.[5]
In 1983, Prefontaine was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, where several exhibits showcase his shoes, shirts, and other memorabilia. Nike used video footage in a commercial titled "Pre Lives", advertising his spirit for their product. On the thirtieth anniversary of his death, Nike placed a memorial in Sports Illustrated, and aired a television commercial in his honor.
Personal records
| Distance |
Time |
Date |
Location |
| 1,500 meters |
3:38.1 |
28 June 1973 |
Helsinki, Finland [2] |
| 2,000 meters |
5:01.4 |
9 May, 1975 |
Coos Bay, Oregon |
| 3,000 meters |
7:42.6 |
2 July, 1974 |
Milan, Italy |
| 5,000 meters |
13:21.87 |
26 June 1974 |
Helsinki, Finland |
| 10,000 meters |
27:43.6 |
27 April 1974 |
Eugene, Oregon |
| 1-mile (1.6 km) |
3:54.6 |
20 June 1973 |
Eugene, Oregon |
| 2 miles (3.2 km) |
8:18.29 |
18 July 1974 |
|
| 3 miles (4.8 km) |
12:51.4 |
8 June 1974 |
Eugene, Oregon |
| 6 miles (9.7 km) |
26:51.8 |
27 April 1974 |
|
| 5000 meters (H.S.) |
13:52.8 |
1969 |
|
See also
References
External links
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Modern history of Oregon (1890–present) |
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| Persondata |
| NAME |
Prefontaine, Steve Roland |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
Pre; Rube |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
United States long-distance runner |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
January 25, 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
Coos Bay, Oregon, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH |
May 30, 1975 |
| PLACE OF DEATH |
Eugene, Oregon, United States |
