Forever Pre
Steve Prefontaine’s legendary
life and even more legendary
death etched him into
the memories of many fans
Mindi Rice
Sports Reporter
Eight days before the first-ever
Bowerman Classic was scheduled to
happen at Hayward Field, legendary
Oregon runner Steve Prefontaine
died in a car accident.
On June 7,1975, fans at Hayward
Field witnessed two runners set an
identical world record in the 220
meter run and a new Hayward
record in the 100 — all in the first
Prefontaine Classic.
“I don’t just go out there and run,”
Prefontaine once said. “I like to give
people watching something exciting.”
In his 24 years, Prefontaine
owned every American record be
tween 2,000 and 10,000 meters. He
also held eight collegiate records in
his days at Oregon.
Prefontaine broke American
records — his own and others — 14
different times.
“A lot of people run a race to see
who is fastest,” Prefontaine had said.
“I run to see who has the most guts,
who can punish himself into exhaust
ing pace, and then at the end, punish
himself even more. Nobody is going to
win a 5,000 meter race after running
an easy two miles. Not with me. If I
lose forcing the pace all the way, well,
at least I can live with myself.”
In 38 races he ran at Hayward
Field between 1970 and 1975, Pre
fontaine lost only three — all in the
one mile. His first loss was at the
Twilight Meet his freshman season.
His second loss came at the same
meet one year later.
His final loss was in a rare appear
ance as a rabbit. He paced 1972
Olympic 800 gold medalist Dave
Wottle in an attempt at the Ameri
can record. Prefontaine finished 0.7
seconds behind Wottle.
“To give anything less than your
best is to sacrifice your gift,” Pre
fontaine often said.
Prefontaine, who grew up in Coos
Bay, attended Marshfield High School,
where he was coached by former Ore
gon track star Walter McClure. He was
undefeated in track and cross country
as a junior and senior. In Corvallis his
senior year, Prefontaine broke the
American record in the two mile by
almost seven seconds.
“How does a kid from Coos Bay,
with one leg longer than the other,
win races?” Prefontaine said. “All
my life people have been telling me,
‘You’re too small, Pre. You’re not fast
enough, Pre. Give up your foolish
dream, Steve.’ But they forgot some
thing — I have to win.”
During his Oregon career, Pre
fontaine won seven NCAA titles. He
earned his three cross country titles
in 1970,1971 and 1973. He also won
a title in track during each of his col
legiate seasons. He was the first col
legian to win four titles in track and
only the second to win three titles in
cross country.
After his freshman campaign, Pre
fontaine was featured on the cover of
Sports Illustrated in June 1970. Dur
ing that year, he set an Oregon fresh
man record in the mile. The track ti
tle he earned that year was won with
12 stitches in his foot from a diving
board accident.
Prefontaine competed at the 1972
Summer Olympics in Munich, Ger
many, when he was 21 years old. He
took the lead in the 5,000 with a mile
to go but was passed with less than
600 meters left. He ended up finishing
fourth in the race — 0.64 seconds be
hind the bronze-medal winner.
He continued running and train
ing with coach Bill Dellinger until
his death. He was planning on re
turning to the Summer Olympics
in 1976 to win a medal. He was also
one of the first runners to wear
Nike shoes, given to him by former
head coach Bill Bowerman.
Since his death, two movies —
“Prefontaine” by Disney and “With
out Limits” by Warner Bros. — as
well as a 1995 documentary, “Fire
on the Track: The Steve Prefontaine
Story,” have been made about his
life and career.
Prefontaine’s last race was the sec
ond-fastest 5,000 in American histo
ry. Fittingly for Prefontaine, he fin
ished second to himself.
“What I want is to be No. 1,” Pre
fontaine often said.
Steve Roland Prefontaine was
found pinned under his car at 12:40
a.m., May 30,1975. He crashed near
the intersection of Birch Lane and
Skyline Drive, just east of campus.
Prefontaine was regarded as the top
runner in the country when he died.
Contact the sports reporter
at mindirice@dailyemerald.com.
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