Precocious, talented, misunderstood – are all words that could be used to describe American distance running legend Steve ‘Pre’ Prefontaine. Not only was Pre fast in running terms – he held the American records for distances from 2000m to 10,000m – he seemed to live his life like there was no tomorrow.
Legend has it that when he was doing his morning sit-ups (and he would do hundreds), he also gave himself a head massage; when he ate his dinner, he would write letters at the same time. For Pre, there were never enough hours in the day. That his life would be tragically cut short by a car crash was devastating to all those who knew him. But like other cult figures, he managed to pack more in to those short 24 years than most people do into a lifetime.
Pre was a true maverick. He didn’t care about the establishment, he rallied against what he saw as the outdated views of the Amateur Athletic Association, and he ran races how he wanted to run them – fast and from the front. But he was loved by the people of his adopted hometown of Eugene, Oregon, who would flock in their thousands to watch Pre annihilate the competition. Their adoration for him was the stuff movies are made of (in fact, there are already two Pre movies). The crowds would unite in their chanting, reaching decibel levels that would make your ears hurt, roaring their favourite son on to win after win. Pre inspired support like no other athlete before or after. He was a legend in his own lifetime.
Teenage kicks
Steve Roland Prefontaine was born on January 25, 1951 in the Oregon Coastal town of Coos Bay. Even as a young boy, he was always tearing around, although his initial forays into running were less than spectacular – 53rd in the state cross-country when he was 14. Within two years, though, the hard-working Pre went undefeated in his junior high school year over cross-country, as well says setting an all-time Oregon track best in the two miles of 9:01.3. He did this while holding down three part-time jobs and a wide range of hobbies that included “sand buggy riding, stamp collecting and drawing”.
In his final year of high school, Pre went undefeated and colleges were clamouring for him to attend. His coach at the time Walt McClure wanted him to attend Oregon State but Pre secretly hankered for a place at the university of Oregon home to legendary track coach (and Nike co-founder) Bill Bowerman. Pre recalls that he got a hand-written not from Bowerman that he claimed said ” would make him into the best distance runner ever”. That was all he needed to hear.
Pre was already a legend-in-the-making by the time he got to Oregon. He’d picked up his first international vest, aged only 18, in the US v Europe meet. Pre ‘the showman’ was also taking shape. Mac Wilkins (who would win the discus in the 1976 Olympics) remembers: “Pre’s room faced in on the dorm complex, so there weren’t an lot of people who could see his bedroom window. But he still managed to hang his USA sweats up in the window with the USA facing out!”
Olympic dreams
It’s a tragedy that Pre never got to fulfil his Olympic dreams – or potential. His only Games was Munich in 1972 as a 21-year-old against more experienced and older competition. In typical Pre fashion, only gold was going to be good enough; the race was pedestrian for the first two miles before Pre kicked in a 62.5 lap and then one in 61.2. Not done yet, Pre ran the penultimate lap in 60.3 with only Mohamed Gamoudi, Ian Stewart and Lasse Viren for company. In bronze medal position until the final few metres, a shattered Pre was passed by Stewart for 4th. He was inconsolable, but he’d made it a race.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he could have gotten third if he had sat back and timed his kick just right,” says Alberto Salazar, another US running legend and now coach to Mo Farah. “But he didn’t want third place. He wanted to give it everything to see if he could win gold. I think in Montreal in 1976 he would have given Viren a fight like hell. I mean, it would have been unbelievable.”
Pre carried on winning, and winning – in fact, before his tragic car crash in 1975, he was unbeaten in that season. The running world was devastated by Pre’s death. Frank Shorter, Olympic marathon champion, says: “It was the first time for me involving a friend. It had an impact, and it still does.” In his short lifetime, Pre had a global impact on running. Search Google for ‘inspirational running quotes’ and you’ll find Pre at the top of the list. His greatest words? “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
