In a city known as “Tracktown USA,” there are many track & field icons who have taken to historic Hayward Field. From Nike co-founder and renowned Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman to current star and University alum Ashton Eaton, many have etched their names into the record books.@@namesarecorrect@@
But when it comes to the true legend of Track Town, there is only one who is truly considered legendary. A legend so strong he needs no name to be identified; merely three letters that resonate the definition of determination, passion and glory on the track. A legend that only had 24 short years to live, but his story will survive generations.
Only three letters: Pre.
Steve Prefontaine is Oregon track. It is difficult to go anywhere in Eugene to find someone who does not know who he was. Everyone knows his story.
Born in 1951 in Coos Bay, a small town on the coast of Oregon, Prefontaine began running cross country and track in high school and quickly found a love for running. In his junior and senior years, he dominated local and national competition. He earned a scholarship to run for the University and for Coach Bill Bowerman, both dreams of Pre’s.
Once donning the green and yellow of the Ducks, Pre did not miss a step; he was a champion in every sense of the word at Oregon. He won the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championship in three of his four years as a Duck. The only time he did not take home the trophy was because he did not even compete, choosing instead to train for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
Prefontaine may have been dominant on the trails of cross country, but at Hayward Field he was nearly unstoppable. He won four consecutive national championships in the 5,000 meters. Each time he rounded Bowerman’s curve, he would hear chants of “Pre! Pre! Pre!” rain down from the stands as he took off on the front straightaway.
What made Prefontaine the runner and the legend that he is was not the fact that he won, but rather how he won. Or maybe more appropriately, how he would not lose.
On the track, Pre was tenacious. He pushed himself to the limit each and every race and everyone, from his fans to his competitors, knew that about him. He never wanted to lose, and he never, ever wanted to relinquish a lead. In one of his most famous quotes, Prefontaine said, “A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into an exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.”
During his time at Oregon, Prefontaine set the American record in the 5,000 meters and earned his spot on the Olympic team in 1972. In the finals, Pre gained the lead in the last mile and remained in first with 150 meters to go. But then something happened that rarely occurred in a Prefontaine race; he got caught. He was passed by three runners in the final 150 meters, leaving him off the podium.
At the time, Americans assumed Prefontaine would be back for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal to take another run at the gold. Tragically, that is an opportunity that Americans never got to see.
On May 30, 1975, Prefontaine was returning home in his car after dropping off a friend just east of the University campus near Hendricks Park. At that time, for reasons that are still a mystery, Pre’s convertible skidded off the road, hit a rock wall and flipped over on top of him. He was not immediately killed, but before a witness could get help it was too late. Steve Prefontaine was dead at age 24.
Today there is a stone memorial at the rock wall where the crash took place, referred to simply as “Pre’s Rock.” It is a monument in Eugene and gets visited by somber track enthusiasts every year.
Prefontaine left this world at far too young an age, but what he did in his life is what truly will be remembered. His spirit, his desire and his commitment to greatness still reside at the core of Track Town.
Steve Prefontaine is Track Town and his legend lives on. Go Pre.