Most people run a race to see who is fastest,
I run a race to see who has the most guts.
-Steve Prefontaine
The Prefontaine Tribute Page
Steve Prefontaine was unquestionably the greatest American runner to ever live. Jim Ryun and Frank Shorter may have won more Olympic medals, but neither could match Prefontaine's magic and aura of invincibility. From his high school years at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon, to his collegiate years at the University of Oregon and his post-collegiate years as a member of the Oregon Track Club, Pre, as he was widely known, was virtually unbeatable on American soil. As a senior in the mining town of Coos Bay, Pre set the national high school record in the two-mile with a time of 8:41.5, smashing the previous mark by 6.9 seconds. Pre continued his dominating ways at the University of Oregon under the direction of coach Bill Bowerman. As a freshman, Pre went undefeated on the track in races over one mile. He won the NCAA title in the three-mile, his specialty, in a meet record time of 13:22.0. He accomplished this despite running with a painful gash on his right foot, suffered three days before the meet, which required 12 stitches to close. This was simply vintage Pre toughness.
Pre went on to win the next 3 NCAA individual titles in the three-mile, making him the first collegian to win four straight NCAA titles in the same event. While track was Pre's passion and trademark, he also won three straight NCAA cross-country individual titles from his sophomore to his senior year. Pre's defining race, however, came at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. There, Pre faced the best distance runners in probably any Olympics. Pre had his sights set on the gold medal in the 5000 meters, and showed that he wasn't afraid to lay it all on the line. After being boxed in for much of the first two miles of the race, Pre took control with one mile left and never let up. He pushed the best runners in the world to their limits and made the race into one of the best distance races in history. With a lap to go, Pre was locked in a battle with Lasse Viren of Finland and Mohammed Gamoudi of Tunisia for the gold. Pre tried twice to pass Viren for the lead, and twice was cut off by Gamoudi. Despite several gutsy moves over the last lap, Pre could not get by Viren and Gamoudi, and was passed in the final steps by Ian Stewart of Great Britain for the bronze medal. Pre made the race, Viren won it.
After Munich, Pre was presented with several lucrative offers to turn professional, but instead decided to set his sights on the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Over the next three years, Pre set American records in the 2000-meters, 3000-meters, 3-mile, 5000-meters, 6-mile, and 10,000-meters. Pre looked ready for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, but it was not to be. On May 29, 1975, Pre ran his last race at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. Just hours after winning the 5000 at Hayward, Pre was involved in a one-car auto accident and was killed. At the time of his death, his winning streak at Hayward Field was at an astonishing 25 wins. He never lost at Hayward.
During his relatively short running career, Pre held American records in every distance from the 2000-meters to the 10,000 meters. He was almost unbeatable on American soil. From the summer of 1970 to the spring of 1974, Pre did not lose a race over one-mile to an American. He was simply the greatest American distance runner ever.
GO PRE!!!
