Steve Prefontaine Essay

Steve Prefontaine is an American athlete who was born on January 25, 1951, in Coos Bay, Oregon. Steve Prefontaine is one of the greatest runners that has ever ran for the United States. Prefontaine was described as charismatic and always confident in the events he did. He was a motivation to many people and still is up to this day. Steve Prefontaine held many records in all events he did, but when entering the 1972 Munich Olympics, he narrowly missed receiving a medal. As he was training for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal an unexpected outcome soon came. Firstly, the career of Steve Prefontaine’s remarkable talent in running started at an early age. When Steve Prefontaine was a freshmen at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon Prefontaine

Bill Bowerman, Prefontaine’s coach at the University of Oregon co-found Blue Ribbon Sports, the precursor to the Nike shoe company. Prefontaine connected athletes from everywhere helping create an audience for Nike’s sports marketing. Prefontaine introduced athletes all around the world to Nike products. Pre made an enormous impact on Nike and without him, it wouldn’t be what it is today. Unfortunately, after all of the accomplishments Prefontaine had in running, his career was cut short after he was killed in a car crash on May 30th, 1975 at the age of 24. In Source 5 it states, “According to the police report, a blood sample taken in those early morning hours after the 12:39 a.m. crash put Prefontaine’s blood-alcohol level at 0.16 percent, which today would be twice the legal limit of presumed impairment of 0.08 percent. In 1975, the presumed level of impairment was 0.10.” After the death of Prefontaine, others joined Nike in taking up Prefontaine’s cause which was dealt with American amateur track athletes, who were not treated fairly by the AAU rules. The help from the others who joined lead to the abolishment of the AAU by the U.S. Congress in 1978. This was Prefontaine’s most important legacy off the

According to Source 4, “Pre’s Rock is memorial at the site of the roadside boulder where Prefontaine died after crashing his car into it. Runners inspired by Prefontaine leave behind memorabilia, such as race numbers, medals, and running shoes. Pre’s Rock became the newest of all the memorials to Prefontaine when it was dedicated in December, 1997. Prefontaine was defined as a man on a mission. When described people use characteristics such as fearless, hero, courage, icon, driven, unforgettable and a legend. According to Source 9, “That [Prefontaine’s high school coach] always ‘asked’ Pre to run workouts, and never used words like ‘I told him to run.’ I sensed a mutual respect between the athlete, who respected his elder’s knowledge, and the coach, who realized his athlete’s enormous talent and capacity for work.” In conclusion, Prefontaine is seen as a motivation to many people. Prefontaine’s legacy is seen by athletes at any level. He is the true definition of working hard and always