PRE's Rock Memorial to Steve Prefontaine

 Steve Prefontaine was already regarded as a prodigy by the end of 11th grade and went on to set a national high school record for two miles in 1969 as a senior, by which time he had made his college commitment. Prefontaine selected the University of Oregon and coach Bill Bowerman, who would launch Nike with Phil Knight.

His hard-charging, run-from-the-front approach to racing defied conventional wisdom, but Steve Prefontaine proved unstoppable at the college level. Sports Illustrated made him the subject of a cover story in June of his freshman year as a 19-year-old.

By the time he was done, Prefontaine had won three NCAA championships in cross country and swept the Pac-8 and NCAA titles in the three miles all four years of his career. At one point shortly after his college career, he would hold every American record for distances between 2,000 and 10,000 meters. Even though it wasn’t his strongest distance, Prefontaine went sub-four minutes in the mile 14 times.

Leaving a Party  Prefontaine was unable to negotiate a difficult curve and crashed his convertible into a stone wall. The runner’s convertible flipped and pinned Prefontaine, who was dead before medics could reach the scene.

A day after his funeral in Coos Bay, Oregon, a memorial service was held at the university’s Hayward Field.

He Was Only 24 Years Old