New Steve Prefontaine biography reveals man behind mythic distance runner

Scott Russell · CBC Sports

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The precocious American region runner Steve Prefontaine ne'er won an Olympic medal, a satellite championship, oregon adjacent held a satellite record. Yet, fractional a period aft his untimely decease successful a car wreck astatine the property of 24, "Pre," arsenic helium came to beryllium known, remains an iconic, astir saint-like figure, of way and field. 

Many would reason that Prefontaine is regarded arsenic the astir charismatic runner of all-time, often credited with igniting the worldwide moving roar of the 1970's, not to notation being the archetypal look of the multi-billion dollar Nike marque of diversion gear. 

In a caller biography, "The Front Runner - The Life of Steve Prefontaine," writer Brendan O'Meara re-examines his bequest connected the cusp of the 50th day of the planetary athletics gathering that bears his name. This year's "Pre Classic" astatine Hayward Field successful Eugene, Ore., will diagnostic much than 20 Olympic golden medallists and countless satellite champions. It is 1 of, if not the most, star-studded fields successful the past of nonrecreational way and tract extracurricular an Olympic Games. 

O'Meara suggests that, successful galore ways, the yearly pilgrimage of these outstanding, runners, jumpers, and throwers from each country of the world, to a small, university city successful the Pacific Northwest of the United States, is 1 of Prefontaine's top contributions to the sport. 

A section leader from the coastal logging municipality of Coos Bay, Prefontaine once held each American grounds from 2,000 to 10,000 metres.  And helium acceptable galore of those records and won astir of his important races astatine the University of Oregon's fabled way astatine Hayward Field. 

He was idolized arsenic a kid prodigy from a unsmooth and tumble inheritance who was outspoken and had the audacity to instrumentality connected the champion successful the satellite portion defying them to contention level retired alternatively of languishing successful the rear and concocting last-minute, oregon contrived, victories. 

He was, arsenic O'Meara explains, the quintessential beforehand runner from an diversion perspective.  

In the biggest contention Prefontaine ever took on, the Olympic 5,000m final astatine the 1972 Munich Games, helium was by acold the smallest and youngest contestant successful the field.  And yet, the assured and brash American was undaunted, starring into the last thigh portion duelling magnificently with the likes of the statuesque Finn, Lasse Viren, who yet won the golden medal, and 1968 Olympic champion Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia who claimed silver. 

Prefontaine, wholly spent, ran retired of state implicit the past fewer metres and was narrowly beaten for the bronze medal by Great Britain's hard charging Ian Stewart.  Distraught, Prefontaine bowed his head, removed his spikes, and walked barefoot disconnected the way successful beforehand of the astonished fans successful the jam-packed stadium.

For galore radical of a definite generation, it was a vivid and lasting archetypal recollection of the crucible of Olympic competition.  

Prefontaine was the upstart kid with the flowing blond hairsbreadth who came truthful adjacent to knocking disconnected the Goliaths from afar. He presented the teasing committedness of the thrill of triumph which gave mode to the world of a fourth-place decorativeness and the agony of defeat.

O'Meara chronicles Prefontaine's beingness based connected much than 150 interviews with teammates, friends, and rivals who knew the enigmatic precocious schoolhouse and collegiate phenom.  And portion determination is simply a definite mythology surrounding "Pre" and his faithful followers known arsenic "Pre's People," O'Meara gives his taxable a quality prime which is much decipherable. 

Referring to him arsenic "Steve" throughout, the writer discovers that down the bravado was a delicate young antheral who was astir comfy successful acquainted surroundings and often wrestled with self–doubt. Moreover, Prefontaine is portrayed arsenic little of a philosopher king and much apt driven by a simpler acceptable of principles — helium wanted to tally hard and accelerated and vie against the champion successful the satellite connected his ain terms, not to notation his location turf. 

WATCH | Oregon's iconic Hayward Field:

 There are besides stories of Prefontaine being a applicable joker, a chaotic and brainsick operator of sports cars, and a prodigious guzzler of beer. The mode O'Meara tells it, Prefontaine revelled successful the attraction of his fans, but helium mightiness person foregone aboriginal fame and luck for a much humble life, which included owning and operating his imagination barroom called "The Sub Four," successful notation to his accomplishment of moving a sub four-minute mile. 

In fact, Prefontaine did defy offers of lucrative contracts from the blossoming nonrecreational International Track Association (ITA), choosing alternatively to support his amateur presumption and prosecute his imagination of winning an Olympic rubric successful Montreal successful 1976 against the champion contention from astir the world. 

While it is true, arsenic O'Meara acknowledges, that Prefontaine fought for jock self-determination and state from the restrictive bonds of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), helium did it not retired of a tendency for idiosyncratic fiscal summation but alternatively to person the accidental to contention against the premier athletes successful the athletics astatine the astir opportune times. 

In this sense, Prefontaine was not lone a beforehand runner helium was a forerunner successful a satellite wherever athletes would yet person greater power implicit their ain destinies.  In abbreviated "Pre" was an idealist who was good up of his time.

His decease came aft midnight connected May 30,1975 pursuing the last way conscionable successful Eugene of what was known arsenic "The Finn Tour."  It was an invitational bid of events tally connected a shoestring fund that Prefontaine envisioned and organized.  It gave the hometown leader a accidental to instrumentality connected world-class, European rivals earlier his faithful supporters.

He won that past contention implicit 5,000 metres astatine Hayward Field, serving announcement to the section fans that the possibilities were endless for this young antheral who hailed from their ain backyard and that the golden medal astatine the Montreal Olympics was astir surely wrong reach.

At the extremity of the telling of Prefontaine's story, the writer concludes that his taxable was uncompromising successful his aforesaid content portion reflecting the hopes and aspirations of his galore disciples.

"Steve would often express, particularly arsenic his vocation began to instrumentality off, however moving was a means of idiosyncratic discovery," O'Meara writes successful the past paragraphs. "As helium broke the tape, the radical roared erstwhile more, and the shadows lengthened implicit the track. Steve aglow by the mounting of the sun." 

In the last analysis, "The Front Runner," is simply a testament to the enduring entreaty of an jock who believed mightily successful the purity of maximum effort.