Prefontaine, Steve R.
Track and Field
b. Jan. 25, 1951, Coos Bay, OR
d. May 30, 1975
Prefontaine discovered distance running in high school, where he ran a 4:06 mile, a 3:49.1 in the 1500-meter, an 8:46.6 in the 2-mile, a 13:43.0 in the 3-mile and a 13:52 in the 5,000-meter run. His 2-mile time shattered the former national interscholastic record by nearly 7 seconds.
He entered the University of Oregon in 1969. Prefontaine was the first athlete ever to win the same event at the NCAA track and field championships four years in a row, taking the 3-mile/5000-meter title from 1970 through 1973. He also won the cross-country championship in 1970, 1971, and 1973 and he was the AAU national 5,000-meter champion in 1971 and 1973.
Prefontaine lacked the all-out speed needed to win races with a finishing kick, so his style was to take the lead early and wear down his competitors by setting a fast early pace. It didn't work for him in the 1972 Olympics, where he wore himself down and ran only fourth in the 5,000 meters. He finished second in the event at the 1973 world championships.
The energetic and popular Prefontaine was offered $200,000 to join the new International Track Association in 1974, but he turned it down because he wanted to run in the 1976 Olympics. Four hours after winning the 5,000-meter run at an invitational meet in Eugene, OR, he was killed in a one-car accident. At his death, he held American records in the 2-mile, 3,000-meter, 3-mile, and 5,000-meter runs.
He still holds national collegiate records for the three-mile (12:53.4) and six-mile (27:09.4).