Steve Prefontaine

Steve Roland Prefontaine was born in the rugged timber town of Coos Bay, Oregon. Attending the University of Oregon to run under legendary coach Bill Bowerman at Hayward Field, 'Pre' electrified crowds with his fearless, suicidal front-running style. Unlike runners who paced themselves for a final sprint, Prefontaine led from the gun, treating every race as a test of sheer psychological courage, famously stating: 'Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.'

Prefontaine never lost a single collegiate race at 3 miles, 5,000 meters, 6 miles, or 10,000 meters, capturing seven NCAA championships. At the 1972 Munich Olympic Games at just twenty-one years old, Prefontaine boldly took the lead in the 5,000-meter final with a mile to go, pushing defending champion Lasse Virén to the limit before finishing in an agonizing fourth place.

As one of the first athletes sponsored by Nike (wearing Bowerman's waffle-sole shoes), Prefontaine waged an open war against the corrupt Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which forced Olympic athletes to live in poverty while officials profited from their likenesses. On 30 May 1975, after organizing a meet in Eugene where he won the 5,000m, Prefontaine was killed when his convertible rolled over on Skyline Boulevard. His advocacy directly paved the way for the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, liberating American athletes.