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The Life of Steve Prefontaine
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Steve Roland Prefontaine was born.
Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American middle and long-distance runner who competed in the 1972 Olympics. -
Steve began high school.
When he began high school at Marshfield High School in 1965, Prefontaine joined the cross country team, coached by Walt McClure, Jr. McClure had run under coach Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon and his father, Walt McClure, Sr. had run under Bill Hayward, also at Oregon. -
Prefontaine was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Prefontaine gained national attention and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated at age 19 in June 1970. He was on the cover of Track and Field News's November 1969 issue. -
Prefontaine placed fourth at the Munich Olympics
Prefontaine ran out of gas with 30 meters to go as Britain's hard-charging Ian Stewart caught him from behind and moved into third place within ten meters of the finish, depriving Prefontaine of an Olympic bronze medal. -
Pre ran his best mile time (3:54.6)
Despite his reputation for leading early instead of holding back until the last lap, Prefontaine had tremendous leg speed; his career best for the mile (3:54.6) was only 3.5 seconds off the world record at the time. -
Steves life tragically ends.
While returning from the party shortly after midnight, Prefontaine was driving on Skyline Boulevard, east of the University of Oregon campus near Hendricks Park. His orange 1973 MGB convertible swerved into a rock wall (44.0433°N 123.0549°W) and flipped, trapping Prefontaine underneath it.
