WHO WAS STEVE PREFONTAINE?
• He was born and raised in Coos Bay. • Pre was a 2-time State 2-mile champion and 2-time State Cross Country Champion. • Set the National Record in the 2-mile at the Corvallis Invitational in 1969. • Graduated from MHS in 1969. • After just completing high school, he qualified for the USA National team and competed in international meets against the USSR, Germany, Great Britain and a combined European team. • He entered the UO in the fall of 1969 as one of the most highly recruited high school track athletes ever. • He won 3 NCAA XC titles and 4 NCAA 3-mile championships. • He set American records at various distances 14 times. • Pre won the 1972 Olympic trials 5000 meters in Eugene to qualify for the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, where he finished 4th in one of the greatest Olympic 5000M races of all-time. • He fought vigorously for athletes’ rights against the Amateur Athletic Union, an organization in those days that totally controlled where athletes competed, where they stayed
