He was born on January 25, 1951 in Coos Bay, Oregon, United States, the son of Raymond Prefontaine, a carpenter, and Elfriede Sehnholz, a seamstress. He had two sisters, one of whom played professional racquetball. Prefontaine grew up speaking German at home.
Because of his slight frame, Prefontaine was not suited for playing either football or basketball.
He studied at Marshfield High School. Later Prefontaine entered the University of Oregon in 1969 and earned his B. S. in 1973.
At Marshfield High School he discovered that he had a natural talent for running and that he performed better as the distances increased. As a sophomore, he joined the track team. As a junior he began to win titles: in 1968 he was state high school champion in both the cross-country and the two-mile meets. He repeated these victories in his senior year, setting a national record with his two-mile run of 8:41. 5, which was seven seconds under the old mark.
He trained under Bill Bowerman in a demanding and creative system from which he benefited immediately, finishing third as a freshman in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) cross-country championships. He never lost again while a student at the university. From 1970 to 1973 he was the Pacific Eight Conference and NCAA cross-country champion, and in 1970 and 1973 he led his Oregon teammates to the team championship as well. In 1972 he set U. S. and NCAA records for 5, 000 meters, while in 1973 he set U. S. and NCAA records for six miles.
Although primarily an outdoor athlete, Prefontaine also was successful in indoor competitions, specializing in two-miles races. In 1973 he set the U. S. indoor record of 8:24. 8, which he broke a year later at 8:20. 4. While at the University of Oregon, he switched back to outdoor collegiate races and was Pacific Eight Conference three-mile champion all four years and the mile champion in 1971.
In 1974 Track and Field News named Prefontaine the most popular track athlete in the world. The International Track Association, however, failed to tempt him with its offer of $200, 000 to turn professional; he wished, instead, to prepare for the Montreal Olympic Games. In the university town of Eugene, Oregon, he worked with disadvantaged youths. He also developed sports programs for inmates in the Oregon prison system.
Prefontaine's death in an automobile accident in Eugene, Oregon, cut short a brilliant career. On the day of his death, he won a 5, 000-meter race and then attended a party with six Finnish athletes he had brought to the United States to compete. About 12:30 A. M. he drove a friend home, then went on alone. His convertible hit an embankment and flipped over. Prefontaine was found pinned beneath it. His blood alcohol level indicated intoxication.
Steve Roland Prefontaine established himself as the premier distance runner of his generation, and perhaps for all time, by setting the record in his lifetime for every distance above 2, 000 meters. Before his death he had set fourteen U. S. records, including eight outdoor marks that still stood unchallenged: 2, 000 meters (5:01. 4); 3, 000 meters (7:42. 6); two miles (8:18. 4); three miles (12:51. 4); 5, 000 meters (13. 22. 2); six miles (26:51. 4); and 10, 000 meters (27:43. 6). No one since has set records in all of these categories. Prefontaine was honored in 1980 when the city of Coos Bay erected a memorial statue as a tribute to his career.
He advocated the expansion of social services for disadvantaged youths and the distribution of birth control devices.
He was impatient with the track-and-field establishment, which he regarded as elitist and unresponsive to the needs of individual athletes. He criticized the lack of financial support for out-of-school amateur athletes, denied the training facilities of the major universities, and he resisted efforts by the American Athletic Union (AAU) to force him to compete against inferior runners from the Soviet bloc. He objected to the AAU's policy of staging U. S. -Soviet meets, largely because he felt that the best runners and the most worthwhile competitors were to found in Western Europe and Scandinavia.
Because of his slight frame, Prefontaine was not suited for playing either football or basketball.
His running was characterized by an aggressive style. Frequently, he ran away from the rest of the field. This style reflected Prefontaine's competitive personality: intensity and fierceness, both on and off the track, were his chief characteristics. Nonetheless, he had an introspective side. Besides, he enjoyed playing to the crowd; the larger the attendance and the noiser the fans, the more it excited him.
He never married.
