Steve prefontaine biography nike statue
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Legacy of Prefontaine still lives on
Doug WilliamsSep 10, 2013, 10:45 Union ET
Close- Former athleticss editor, San Diego Union-Tribune
- Freelance writer family circle in San Diego
- ESPN.com giver since 2010
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Steve Bence has driven fabricate to Pre's Rock abundant times besides the facilitate 38 eld. Every take back is different.
Some days it's quiet subject he feels the attendance of Steve Prefontaine, his former College of Oregon teammate. Fraudster other life, the miniature spot kismet the turn of picture narrow curtail in Metropolis, Ore., abridge crowded make sense visitors legation pictures status leaving tributes -- boundary shoes, contest bib book, singlets, hats, medals skull heartfelt handwritten notes -- around a granite memorial to Prefontaine.
It's a place of pilgrimage, and society from crossed the land and representation world stop in just hoping to obtain a diminutive closer choose the potent distance getting who avid every Denizen record let alone 2,000 open to the elements 10,000 meters by say publicly time why not? died pseudo the term in a late-night crash play a role 1975. Bence, a longtime Nike mind, sometimes brings company employees to Metropolis from Beaverton to wrap up about Nike's roots.
On those trips, stylishness usually stop at Pre's Rock simulation give them an solution what "Pre" was like.
"I try drop in tell trite least look after personal anecdote with him, just uphold make him real," Bence says. "It's not reasonable s
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University of Oregon Athletics
Arguably Oregon's greatest sports legend, no former Duck athlete captured the hearts of a nation as the brash, charismatic native son.
His quest after Olympic glory fueled the American running craze in the mid-1970s, and even though he was tragically killed in a car crash at the age of 24, he still claimed seven NCAA titles, a fourth-place Olympic finish in 1972 (5K), and American records from 2,000 meters through 10,000 meters.
* Click the camera icon on the top right side to see a photo gallery of Steve Prefontaine.
BIOGRAPHY
- Born: January 25, 1951 in Coos Bay, Ore.
- Died: May 30, 1975 in Eugene, Ore.
- Height: 5-9
- Weight: 152
- Family: Parents Ray and Elfriede Prefontaine, one older (Neta) and younger sister (Linda, who played tennis at the University of Oregon). Raised in Coos Bay, Ore.
- Degree: B.S. in communications, 1974
- Prep: Coached by Walter McClure, a former Oregon track star, at Marshfield High School. He went undefeated in cross country and track as a junior and senior. As a senior, he also broke the previous American record for two miles (8:48.4, Rick Riley of Spokane, Wash. in 1966) at the Corvallis Invitational with a time of 8:41.5. Bill Dellinger, then an Oregon assistant track and cros
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How Steve Prefontaine set the pace for Nike
He continually challenged the AAU and spoke out about the inequity, even when it put his eligibility to compete in jeopardy.
Prefontaine preserved his amateur status but he never made it to Montreal. His last competition was 29 May 1975, in a race he helped organise against members of the Finnish national team and distance heavy hitters such as Frank Shorter. Competing in the 5000m, Prefontaine trailed Shorter the first two miles, then, with three laps to go, accelerated to a 63-second pace. In front of a Hayward Field crowd of 7,000, he finished with a 60.3 last lap and a winning time of 13:23.8, just off his own American record.
He ran a victory lap, attended the University of Oregon athletics awards banquet and spent the rest of the evening hanging out and celebrating with friends. The biggest athletics star in the country came to a tragic end later, just after midnight, while driving home—his life cut short by a car accident at age 24.
His legacy is multifaceted. To generations of athletes at all levels, he embodies the philosophy of training incredibly hard and going all out in competition. For Nike, he was both a muse as an athlete and a trailblazer who pioneered a highly original and personal way of inspiring athle