Steve Prefontaine: Death Scene| Biography| Classic| Oregon: A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? He has yet to grow his signature mustache, but his almost-smiling face and confidence is familiar. You don't have many ways to jump, he once said of his boyhood. Fire on the Track: The Steve Prefontaine Story is a documentary that tells the story of Steve Prefontaine, an American middle and long-distance runner who se. Ballenger tried to determine the speed at which Prefontainescar had beentraveling. ADVERTISEMENT },false) He has been called the James Dean of track, but a better label might be Muhammad Ali in spikes. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. But I stood in the window and watched those lights come together, the younger Alvarado said. SI cover, 50 years ago today. In some ways, thats not a bad thing because it keeps you hungry. Children at Blossom Gulch Elementary, Farr and Prefontaines alma mater, are taught an entire unit on Prefontaines life and philosophy. The next morning, Frank Shorter walked down the hill to examine the scene of the crash. She is currently single. Shorter turned to someone at the table. The Shirleys also heard rumors: The driver had leftEugene for months after the accident; his father, thedoctor, had a drinking problem and it was actually him in the car that night; he had convinced his son to take the rap; his medical license had been on the rocks; the son went to the district attorneys office to confess but they didnt want to accept the confession. Almost instantly, rumors began to swirl around the other driver. The police report and local news accounts of what happened that nightnamed a 20-year-old, butlocals wondered if he was actually behind the wheel or whether it was his father, a prominent doctor in town. From there, Prefontaines career seemed unstoppable. He soaked the foot every hour, applied an ointment that numbed it the day of the race, wrapped it tightly and then won. Who knows what Steve Prefontaine . Raymond George Prefontaine 1919 . In front of Moores house, he sat in the drivers seat of the car and spoke with Shorter. Local news accounts from the time saythat the driver and his father avoided inquiries from reporters. a senior, by which time he had made his college commitment. Tunisia placing second. Who Is Likely to Run World Championships Marathon? The first film off the starting line, Prefontaine, does reasonably well at re-creating the look of the runner and his times. He is not dating anyone. and they said his autopsy showed he had twice the . Last Friday, Paul Gibson, 26, professional hurdler, was killed in an auto accident in El Paso, Tex. Today we will discuss about Steve Prefontaine: Death scene| Was married| When did die. },false) to earn a berth on the U.S. Olympic team that would compete in West Germany, Because Im generally not this way. But it was later that year that he began to realise he was able to compete well in longer distance races. Shorter and Linda Prefontaine, at least, wont accept it. Returning home,he saw Prefontaines car flipped over. If we had talked for 30 seconds more or 30 seconds less, Shorter said. I left another. The party was at his friend Geoff Hollisters house, tucked amid the trees in the older, statelier part of town. His nickname, Pre, became as familiar to track followers as such other sports handles as Wilt, O.J. What if a Finnish track fan did it so Prefontaine wouldnt race against Lasse Viren at the 1976 Olympics? Prefontaine is in both the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. The 5foot9inch, 145pound Prefontaine, one of the most popular trackmen, was born in Coos Bay, Ore., and confined most of his competitive career to the West Coast. AAU officials said that if athletes wanted to remain amateur and eligible for the Olympics, they could not be paid for appearances at track meets, limiting the options for athletes who needed to finance their own careers. flipped and pinned Prefontaine, who was dead before medics could reach the It was taken at Silke Field in Springfield, Oregon, on April 19, 1968. With his friends in Eugene, Prefontaine was an early employee of a small shoe company that would later be called Nike. Look at me! They point to the recent success of another Coos Bayborn sports star, Mark Helfrich, the University of Oregon football coach, who keeps a picture of Prefontaine hanging outside his office. Theres a purity part.. Edward Wilson, assistant medical examiner for Lane County, said today that Steve Prefontaine's death in a car crush yesterday was caused by suffocation. Recently, she confronted an artist who painted an image of the crash site, arguing that he didnt have the right to do it. We even took drivers ed together, Farr said, his eyes turning glossy. Death 30 May 1975 (aged 24) Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, USA. And I think, Im sorry. .css-17zuyas{display:block;font-family:Sailec,Sailec-fallback,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-17zuyas:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-17zuyas{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-17zuyas{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-17zuyas{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-17zuyas{font-size:1.2rem;line-height:1.4;}}.css-17zuyas h2 span:hover{color:#CDCDCD;}USATF Mountain Running Championships Results, These High School Boys Have Run Sub-4 Minute Miles, Watch: 96-Year-Old Clocks a 24-Second 100 Meters, Stephanie Bruce Sneaks In a Race at Big Sur, Ultramarathoner Runs to Destigmatize Incontinence, Mark Zuckerberg Just Ran a Surprisingly Fast 5K. Prefontaine, 24, Killed in Crash - The New York Times }); There is much anticipation as ShaCarri Richardson readies to race against Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Shericka Jackson. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Prefontaines death is told as a cautionary drunken driving tale. if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ Prefontaine wasnt just setting American and collegiate records. There are still a few folders of negatives he wants to examine. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. The runners convertible Its filled with back issues, print files going back about 40 years, and boxes packed with film negatives filed haphazardly by date. He was the rarest of elite athletes: a true local. Prefontaine, who was back in training for the Montreal Olympics the following year, took part in a meet in Eugene on May 29 with University of Oregon runners, a delegation of Finnish athletes, and some others. A funeral service is scheduled Monday at the Marshfield High School stadium in Coos Bay, Ore., where Prefontaine was born. During winter, they ran in long johns and argued with the football players in the Marshfield High School locker room about which was harder: swimming, football, or track. [In Eugene the police said a laboratory analysis indicated that Prefontaine had A blood alcohol content of 16 per cent, The Associated Press reported. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information/Your California Privacy Rights/Children's Online Privacy Policy are applicable to you. At the time of his death, Prefontaine was probably the most popular athlete in Oregon and, along with Jim Ryun, Frank Shorter, Jeff Galloway and Bill Rodgers, was credited with fueling the national running boom of the 1970s.