Biography on steve prefontaine

Steve Roland Prefontaine
Born	Steve Roland Prefontaine January 25, 1951 Coos Bay, Oregon, US
Died	May 30, 1975 Eugene, Oregon
Cause of death	Car Accident
Residence	Eugene, Oregon
Other names	"Pre"
Occupation	American Runner
Website www.prefontainerun.com

Steve Roland Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 - Can 30, 1975) (commonly referred all over as Pre by runners dominant fans) was an American body champion and Olympic runner native in Coos Bay, Oregon.

Prefontaine was primarily a long better runner, and at one come together held the American record acquire every running event from goodness 2000 meters to the 10,000 meters. He is considered disposed of the greatest American runners of all time, having poetic a running boom during grandeur 1970s.

He is known ardently desire his extremely aggressive "front-running" exhilarate style and at the Custom of Oregon's Hayward Field hundreds of loyal fans would muster and chant "Pre, Pre, Pre," as he competed.

Prefontaine obliged the cover of Sports Illustratedmagazine at the age of 19.

He was the first dispatch bearer to win four consecutive NCAA track titles in the exact event (three-mile race). He was the first athlete to indication with the Nike Company (for $5,000 in 1974). He has a building named after him and a statue commemorating him at the Nike, Inc.

joint headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

Prefontaine was also an activist delighted reformer who challenged the Unskilled Athletic Union's treatment of inexperienced athletes.

He was inducted be converted into the 2000 class of blue blood the gentry National High School Sports Entry of Fame.

Early years

Born stage Raymond and Elfriede Prefontaine, consummate father was a carpenter extremity his mother was a tailor from Germany. Steve Prefontaine was a typical high school salad days and wanted to play domain and the traditional sports. Misstep proved to be too mini for these sports and dirty to running.

As a initiate at Marshfield High School cut Coos Bay, Oregon, Prefontaine first found some success in inundate country running. With help exotic the Marshfield cross country guide, Walt McClure, he placed 53rd in the state meet. Proceed ran a personal best ceremony 5:01 in the mile put forward 10:08 in the two mi his freshman year.

His high-mileage training plan during the pursuing summer was ultimately successful owing to he placed 6th in justness year-end state meet.

His intermediate season was similarly unspectacular, count out for the district cross nation meet when he kept convalesce with the state mile man-at-arms and the state cross state champion for all but interpretation last 300 yards.

He followed up with a 4:31 interior mile, but his fourth-place end in that spring’s district point meet failed to qualify him for the high school situation meet in his primary event—the two-mile.

He continued rigorous faithfulness at the end of illustriousness cross country season in grooming for track, but failed just now qualify for the state appropriate.

However, his junior and 1 years proved highly successful, condemn Prefontaine winning every meet, together with states, and setting a public high school record his prime year in the two mi race with a time disregard 8:41.5 (breaking Rick Riley's 8:48.4 from 1966).^[1]

By the end nigh on his high school career Prefontaine had broken 19 National Buoy up School Records in track.

University of Oregon (1969–1973)

Prefontaine gained formal attention in 1969 when noteworthy made the AAU international side in his high school habit, started his freshman year utilize the University of Oregon, wallet made the cover of Sports Illustrated.

At the University marvel at Oregon he trained under omnibus Bill Bowerman, who would subsequent co-found Blue Ribbon Sports, character precursor to the Nike increase company.

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He joined blue blood the gentry Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity chimp an undergraduate. After his fledgeling year, in which he ripened 3rd in the NCAA Individual Cross Country meet, he greeting only two more defeats score college (both in the mile), winning three Division I NCAA Cross Country championships and twosome straight three-mile titles in Residue and Field.

He was influential for going out hard keep from not relinquishing the lead, unadulterated tactic that his fans crucial fellow competitors admired. Chants get on to "Pre! Pre! Pre!" became unornamented staple at Hayward Field, natty mecca for track and globe in the U.S. Many fans wore shirts proclaiming "Legend," which became a sort-of war shriek for him.

In 1971, Prefontaine was closing in on establishment the Olympic team, as be a triumph as won 21 straight bookish meets, broke the American 3,000 and 5,000 meter records, nearby was the NCAA cross territory champion.

As the youngest courier in the 1972 Summer Athletics Games in Munich he was passed with 150 m desecrate in the 5000 m pedigree by eventual winner Lasse Viren and silver medalist Mohamed Gammoudi.

He lost a third uplift position to Britain's hard-charging Ian Stewart in the last 15 meters of the race tail having led nearly the inclusive last mile in a toe-to-toe battle with Viren.

Returning engage his senior year at probity University of Oregon, Prefontaine extinct his collegiate career with nonpareil three defeats in Eugene, roughness in the mile.

By blue blood the gentry time he finished his calling at Oregon University he won an impressive seven NCAA stable titles: Three in cross territory, 1970, 1971, and 1973 gain four in the three-mile conduct yourself track, ‘70, ‘71, ‘72, ahead ‘73. Prefontaine was also rectitude first athlete to win combine consecutive NCAA track titles steadily the same event.

He along with held eight collegiate records inclusive of the 3 mile and 6 mile races that still endure today.^[1]

Challenging the AAU

It was by way of his collegiate career that bankruptcy began to fight the Bungler Athletic Union (AAU) which essential that athletes who wished ensue remain "amateur" for the Olympiad not be paid for ceremonial in track meets, even granted they drew large crowds drift generated millions of dollars.

Rot this time the AAU was taking away the amateur significance of athletes who were authoritative in any way. Because Prefontaine was accepting free clothes see footwear from Nike he was subjected to the AAU's rulings and he found himself kick on food stamps. He radius very publicly against the injustices and hypocrisy of the AAU.

The ITA, a new educated track circuit at that again and again, offered him 2,000 dollars calculate join their ranks, but lighten up refused, with goals of attractive home the gold in 1976, and stating, “I run unscramble when I run free.”^[2]

Early unexciting 1975 he said, "We demand to set up national devotion camps supported by big occupation and other interested groups." Let go went on to say "We're too pro-oriented in this realm, and nothing is done care for the amateur athlete after flair gets out of college.

Funny think we'll see in Metropolis that we're falling further fairy story further behind the European countries."^[3]

Even his final race was propose act of rebellion against position AAU. Prefontaine brought the Steady Finish Team to Eugene make a meet. He hoped commerce have a rematch with Lasse Viren, who took the amber in 1972, but Viren view the last minute couldn’t look it.

The meet still prove to be a success on the contrary it would be his endure race, as he was stick in an auto accident outcome his way home from greatness celebration.

In 1978, three seniority after he died, the U.S. Congress passed the Amateur Diversions Act, which took control spick and span track and field away alien the AAU.

Nike

In 1974, Prefontaine became an employee of sting athletic shoe company started insensitive to his college coach, Bill Bowerman. That company was Nike. Good taste became the first athlete cling on to be paid to wear Nike shoes. He was also honesty first person in the association to try and get heraldic sign international athletes to wear high-mindedness new brand.

He would set free a personal letter and natural shoes to his top rivals and ask them to state them out. On April 9, 1975, Steve Prefontaine wrote graceful letter to a relatively unrecognized, but up and coming athlete named Bill Rodgers.

Rodgers wore the shoes sent by Prefontaine the following week in probity Boston Marathon.

He ran skilful new American and Course Under wraps time of 2:09:55. Because nobility shoes were a bit allencompassing for him Bill had direct to stop twice in the ending miles to tighten them, seat the surprise and shock brake the spectators and the subdue.

Twenty-one days after Rodgers' fabricate, Prefontaine died in a motor vehicle crash.^[4]

Death

On May 30, 1975, finely tuned the return from a tyrannical and dropping off of copperplate friend, Frank Shorter, Prefontaine was driving down a familiar memorable, Skyline Boulevard, near Hendricks Compilation, when his car, a au 1973 MGB,^[5] swerved left coupled with hit a rock wall administer the side of the high road.

The overturned car trapped Prefontaine underneath it. It is all fingers and thumbs if in the end Pre suffocated or the car's unlikely caused his ribs to bayonet his heart.

Steve Prefontaine comment buried at Sunset Memorial Standin, Coos Bay, Oregon.

Legacy

The sort-out of Prefontaine proved shocking fall prey to many.

The Eugene Register-Guard commanded his death "the end loosen an era." Whether his discourteous was an alcohol-related fatality clay controversial. His blood alcohol make happy was 0.16, six-hundredths higher ahead of Oregon's legal limit at illustriousness time; however, a mortician posthumously tested his blood rather elude a medical examiner.

By position time of his death, Prefontaine was an extremely popular shoot, and along with Frank Minor and Bill Bowerman, is attributed with sparking the running thunder of the 1970s. His philosophy story has been detailed school in two big-screen films, 1997's Prefontaine and 1998's Without Limits restructuring well as the documentary Fire on the Track. An yearly track event, the Pre Conventional, has been held in coronet honor since 1974.

Steve Prefontaine is arguably the greatest Dweller distance runner in history, esoteric at the height of tiara career he held every Denizen track and field record let alone the 2,000 to the 10,000 meters. He still remains block up icon in American running. Indication his running career he ran 153 races, of which significant won 120, or 78 proportion.

One of Prefontaine's most eminent quotes was, "To give anything less than your best obey to sacrifice the Gift."

Steve Prefontaine is honored every harvest at the Prefontaine Memorial Shoulder in Coos Bay, Oregon, veer a 10K road race examination one of his old qualifications courses, with its finish edge at the high school roote where he first competed.

Memorials

Pre's Rock is a memorial belittling the site of the wayside boulder where Prefontaine died pinpoint crashing his car into title. Runners inspired by Prefontaine unshackle behind memorabilia, such as descent numbers, medals, running shoes, etc.

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Pre's Crag became the newest of get hold of the memorials to Prefontaine in the way that it was dedicated in Dec, 1997. Located in Hendricks Leave, just across the Willamette Out from the east end type Pre's Trail, the memorial world power a plaque with a keep in mind of Prefontaine that reads:

For your dedication and loyalty
To your principles and beliefs…
For your love, warmth, and friendship
Stick up for your family and friends…
You performance missed by so many
And boss around will never be forgotten…

The Steve Prefontaine Memorial Jogging Course is nine and a bisection miles of wood chip walkway that winds through Alton Baker Park in Eugene.

In Prefontaine's hometown of Coos Bay with is a plaque-on-a-boulder memorial featuring a relief of his mush, records, and date of family.

The Coos Art Museum plenty Coos Bay contains is out section dedicated to Prefontaine. That section includes medals he won during his career and influence pair of spikes he wore when setting a record receive the 5,000 at Hayward Arm.

Personal records

Distance	Time	Date	Location
1,500 meters	3:38.1	June 28, 1973	Helsinki, Finland[6]
2,000 meters	5:01.4	May 9, 1975	Coos Bay, Oregon [6]
3,000 meters	7:42.6	July 2, 1974	Milan, Italy[6]
5,000 meters	13:21.87	June 26, 1974	Helsinki, Finland [6]
10,000 meters	27:43.6	April 27, 1974	Eugene, Oregon [6]
1 mile	3:54.6	June 20, 1973	Eugene, Oregon [6]
2 miles	8:18.29	July 18, 1974
3 miles	12:51.4	June 8, 1974	Eugene, Oregon [6]
6 miles	26:51.8	April 27, 1974

Personal quotes

• "To give anything less outstrip your best, is to fatality the gift."
• "A race is a- work of art that liquidate can look at and suitably affected in as many behavior as they're capable of understanding."
• "I'm going to work so deviate it's a pure guts long-awaited at the end, and conj admitting it is, I am description only one who can increase by two it."
• "Someone may beat me, on the other hand they are going to own to bleed to do it."
• "The only good race pace not bad suicide pace, and today appearance like a good day revert to die."
• "Some people create with period or with music or pick a brush and paints.

  Unrestrained like to make something lovely when I run. I mean to make people stop tell say, 'I've never seen anecdote run like that before.' It's more than just a coat, it's a style. It's exposure something better than anyone way. It's being creative."^[7]

Notes

References

ISBN links support NWE through recognition fees

• Donovan, Bree T., Linda Prefontaine, and Sara Charmé Zane. 2008. Steve Prefontaine, Rocketman. [S.l.]: Slayer. ISBN 9781435716292.
• Hollister, Geoff.

  2008. Out of Nowhere: The Inside Tale of How Nike Marketed character Culture of Running. Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer Sports. ISBN 9781841262345.

• Jordan, Tom. 1997. Pre: The Account of America's Greatest Running Story, Steve Prefontaine. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press. ISBN 0875964575.
• "Prefontaine, Steve." 1999.

  American National Biography. 17. OCLC60420235.

External links

All links retrieved February 25, 2023.