Steve Prefontaine

Coach

• Born: January 25, 1951
• Birthplace: Coos Bay, Oregon
• Died: May 30, 1975
• Place of death: Eugene, Oregon

Sport: Track and field (long-distance runs)

Early Life

Steve Roland Prefontaine was born on January 25, 1951, in Coos Bay, Oregon. Steve’s parents, Raymond and Elfriede, were of German ancestry. He had two sisters, Linda and Neta. He grew up in Coos Bay, a town of blue-collar residents who primarily worked in shipping and logging. Steve was a slow learner in grade school because of his problems mastering English. In junior high school, he did well in a physical-fitness running test. He found that he could beat his fellow classmates. This success gave him a feeling of confidence that he had never had.

The Road to Excellence

Steve attended Marsfield High School in Coos Bay and won the state cross-country championships as a junior and a senior. As a junior, he won the state two-mile track championship and doubled with victories in the state one- and two-mile events as a senior. In the two-mile run, he set the national record of 8 minutes 41 seconds. Steve became known for his cockiness in high school, but his boasts were tolerated by his fans because he usually backed them up.

Following high school, Steve enrolled at the University of Oregon in Eugene and competed as a scholarship athlete for coaches Bill Bowerman and Bill Dellinger. While at Oregon, Steve won three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) cross-country championships and four NCAA three-mile championships. He also set American and NCAA track records at 5,000 meters and six miles. At this time, Steve developed a reputation for his hard-driving training and aggressive racing style. His training sessions became legendary and contributed to his popularity with the Oregon track fans.

Although Steve displayed success in the mile run—he ran a personal record of 3 minutes 54 seconds—he did not have the great finishing kick that many of the best mile, three-mile, and 5,000-meter runners had. That was perhaps his only weakness as a runner. He was fearless and loved to force the pace.

The Emerging Champion

In 1971, Steve became a national track hero when he set an American and NCAA record at 5,000 meters in the United States-Soviet Union dual meet. In 1972, at the U.S. Olympic trials, Steve was first in the 5,000 meters. Earlier in the year, he set American records at 3,000 meters and two miles.

At the 1972 Munich Olympics, the U.S. team success in distance races was clearly placed on the shoulders of Steve. He accepted this additional pressure and seemed to thrive on the national attention that was given to the distance races. He won his preliminary heat of the 5,000 meters. In the finals, the pace of the race was slow until the last mile. At that point, Steve took the lead and forced the pace. In the last straightaway, Steve was passed by runners with stronger kicks, and he faded to fourth.

Following his Olympic disappointment, Steve recommitted to training with the goal of challenging Europe’s best distance runners. In 1973, he placed second at the World Games and set another American record at 5,000 meters.

Steve encountered the typical financial pressures of a young postcollegiate athlete of the 1970’s. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) had restrictive rules about where and when an athlete could compete in international competition. The AAU also had rules that forbade an athlete from accepting money from sponsors to support his or her training efforts. The policies of the AAU aggravated Steve, because he felt that they discouraged the best U.S. distance runners from developing to the elite levels of their European counterparts. Steve began to speak out about the rigid AAU policies.

Continuing the Story

In 1974, Steve had his best competitive summer. He set three American records in summer races in Europe and became more competitive internationally. Steve was so well known that he was named by Track and Field News as the most popular track athlete in the world. Steve electrified track fans and was an idol to many.

Steve was approached by the International Track Association to run for $200,000 a year. He turned down the offer because he felt that he still had unfinished business in the world of amateur distance running. He wanted to prepare for his next Olympic opportunity in Montreal in 1976.

In May of 1975, Steve ran a 5,000-meter race in Eugene, Oregon, against his friend and rival Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic Marathon champion. Steve won the race easily and showed that he was in excellent shape for the upcoming summer competitions. However, the AAU had placed travel restrictions for participation in certain international events unless an athlete performed in all AAU-sponsored events scheduled for that year. The AAU policies conflicted with Steve’s planned summer competitions and, he felt, limited his ability to compete against the best runners in the world. Shorter, who happened to be an attorney, agreed with Steve and decided to work with him to pursue a legislative approach to changing the AAU policies.

Sadly, Steve was killed the night following the Eugene race while he drove home after a party to celebrate his victory. He was at the peak of his distance running career when he died, and his demise was a major blow to U.S. distance running prospects at the time.

Summary

During his prime, Steve Prefontaine was the best U.S. distance runner from 2,000 meters to 10,000 meters. He was known for his intense competitive desire and for advocating the promotion of distance running during the early and mid-1970’s.

Bibliography

Baker, Mark, and Stephen Cannella. “Land of the Pre.” Sports Illustrated 102, no. 22 (May 30, 2005): 19.

Jordan, Tom. Pre: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine. 2d ed. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press, 1997.

Porter, David L., ed. Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Outdoor Sports. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1988.

Walton, Theresa A. “Steve Prefontaine: From Rebel with a Cause to Hero with a Swoosh.” Sociology of Sport Journal 21, no. 1 (March, 2004): 61-83.