Born: January 25, 1951; Coos Bay, Oregon
Died: Age 24; May 29, 1975; car crash (drunk driving)
Movies Made About Pre: Fire on the Track (1995 Prefontaine (1997); Without Limits (1998)_z_running_z_);
Books About Pre: "Pre : The Story of Americas Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine" by Tom Jordan, 1997
What Made Him So Special?:
He was undefeated in cross-country and track through his junior and senior year of high school. His senior year, he broke the American record for the 2 mile.
He held eight collegiate records and his three-mile and six-mile records are still standing today. During his career he broke his own or other American records 14 different times. He never lost a meet at University of Oregon.
At the height of his career, he held every American track & field record from the 2000 to the 1000 meters.
In 1974, Prefontaine became the first athlete to sign a contract with Nike.
In addition, many people loved Prefontaine because of his charismatic and cocky attitude and his never-say-die way of running.
