Steve Prefontaine's Gutsy 5000m at the 1972 Olympics (Final 1500m)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2018
- The final 1500 of the Men's 5000 meters at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany on Sept 10th 1972. Steve Prefontaine took the lead in the final during the last mile and ended the slow pace of the first two miles. In second place at the start of the bell lap, he fell back to third with 200 meters to go.
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Every time I watch this, I hope the footage changes and Pre takes a medal.
He came in fourth.
You and I both!
Yeah, me too. I see, when they had like 300 meters to go, Pre started to look around and turn his head a lot. That was a bad mistake, in my opinion. I think that's what slowed him down. So sad...
The absolute balls on Pre. He was racing the best in the world and he made 3 moves at the leader in 3 laps. This dude wasn't afraid of anyone.
He forgot how fuckin fast of aa kick ALL of those guys have...should've kicked the pace with 1.5 miles to go.....Viren and Stewart will kill you in the sprint, Ghamoudi excellent veteran
And it got him beat. Had he run a smarter race he would have at least medaled. He wanted total victory, however and wasn't willing to compromise. Admirable.
True. But not the best strategy.
Matthew Bilich I’m pretty sure he could have medaled but he didn’t want silver or bronze. The guys who generally push the pace chickened out this race and had the race continued it would have been a slower race which would favor every single person with a kick. At 21 he put on a hell of a gutsy performance when none of the other more experienced runners had the balls to do it.
@@onefoot7 Except Viren was a monster regardless of the strategy employed. In 1976 his last 1,500 metres in that final would have placed him 8th in the 1,500-metres final held at those Games.
I was lucky enough to be in Munich and watch this race in person. I still remember it to this day.
Same, I was on the track cheering them on. I wasn’t in the stadium seating. I was trackside
Omg! You touched a history
I’m jealous of you. I wasn’t alive but that would have been a highlight in my life.
amazing!
@pre .. impressive
Just wonderful how the youtube recommendations make it impossible to properly watch the finish.
No problem here
It's such a pain. I had my first three add view this week too
Thanks YT for making it a great finish we can't see
@@zachsimon9475 Shut up.
How do you turn those off?
Let his way of running be an inspiration to all of us 50 years later. Whatever you do in life give it your all and never give up.
Every time I watch this I think he's going to finally win
Balls? Lmaooooo dude, he got smoked. He almost passed out. Bad form, bad pace by speeding up and slowing down and damn near collapsed. A rookie mistake. Dead in 75. Almost 50 years ago. Get over it.
@@arsenioseslpodcast3143 Stop trolling people. Why are you even here if you’re not a fan of Pre’s?
@@arsenioseslpodcast3143 Don’t be a prick and write brain rotting bull shit like this. You don’t understand. He ran this race with heart. As far as I’m concerned, every runner to exist did it for the times except him. He did it to see who’s the runner at heart.
That's our hometown hero Steve. Hurts my heart.
Very tragic nut he left a huuuge mark!
Such a great run by Pre probably the best 4th place ever
Balls? Lmaooooo dude, he got smoked. He almost passed out. Bad form, bad pace by speeding up and slowing down and damn near collapsed. A rookie mistake. Dead in 75. Almost 50 years ago. Get over it.
@@arsenioseslpodcast3143 Why are you talking about balls, weirdo? Oh, you were trying to be clever and reply to the top comment instead of this one 🤦🏻♂️. Also, where did Steve touch you? Why so upset? Maybe concentrate on your pathetic TH-cam channel (not even 2k subscribers in over 6 years?!) and not on Pre races. What a goofball 🤣.
@@arsenioseslpodcast3143 what
@@arsenioseslpodcast3143 alright bud 😂
@@arsenioseslpodcast3143 You watched the video, dude. Think about what that means.
I was a college middle distance runner at this time and remember watching this race. That race was stacked and the Best of the Best were there. Pre was just a kid about 21 years old and took it to them. A bunch of my teammates and I were watching this race and couldn't believe how much heart he had. If he hadn't been killed a few years later, I have no doubt he would have a least medaled at the next Olympics. Pre was the man!!
Killed? Wasn't it him crashing his own car?
@@nmorgan2380 yes he was killed when he rolled his convertible.
Sadly Pre did everything the same way he ran.
@NiMo2380 ain’t no way your bitchin LOL pre is a beast
Are you still running competitively (like ultramarathon)?
I saw the film Without Limits when I was 18, and still an avid runner. To this day, that scene is one of the most suspenseful and phenomenally done, in my opinion. Sidenote: Billy Crudup did an incredible job mimicking Steve's likeness and mannerisms, on and off the track. Fantastic movie.
Just watched it for the third or 4th time. They all did an amazing job. Love that movie, and I'm nit much of a runner at all. But something about Pre inspires me.
I used to watch it like ever other weekend in high school. I saw it with my dad when I was 5 and first came out. I have the memory of still seeing “Without Limits” on the old timey marquee. I don’t really run anymore but I watch it every couple years or so get me motivated. Amazing movie and holds a special place in my heart
Pre was phenominal at 10,000 meters.
Pre lives in the heart of every distance runner 🏃♂️
Pre ran with heart! What an inspiration, even in defeat😢✊
Faith Reality
That’s why he finished 4th
He didn't realize ALL those guys can run a sub 4 minute mile on last mile in a 5k
Pre ran with guts and Viren ran with an extra bag of blood.
He’s been dead for 48 years. Stop. Lmfao
“It’s not whose the best, it’s who can’t take the most pain”- Steve Prefontaine
PRE lives
Can*
And did he write "whose," pjmac550355?
Who"s.
Pre was a force of nature.
Pre was a CREATION OF GOD!
I hate to see him lose this competition, but Viren was FANTASTIC!!!!
Boy that 72 Olympic games had it all! It had it all including this terrific race!
That race was a thing of beauty
he is still a kid here, would have been prime for 1976. So sad it couldn't be.
Yes but he would go up against my fellow County man John Walker in 76 and I don't know how that would have gone down
@@SuperJohnfoster Incorrect, Walker only ran (and won) the 1500m in '76. However, in addition to Viren, Pre would have been facing the likes of Rod Dixon and Dick Quax - two other Kiwi's with much better closing/sprint speed, as well as a host of other 1500m ex-pats with better speed who fled the 1500m knowing they had little chance of beating Walker. It is difficult to imagine what race tactics Pre could have used successfully to beat that field - now it was Viren's turn to pour on the gas from several laps out to sap the speedsters of their kicks, but he STILL had to pull out a tremendous kick to hold off the charging Quax. I just don't see where Pre fits in that final furious 150m - but hard to imagine him at the front.
@@SuperJohnfoster Ugggh, go back to your orange hair, with bright purple strides with with crimson shirt, New Zealander. Go listen to some Finn brothers.. You know, those world class maestro composers.
I remember those years. 1975 and 1976 the best middle distance runner was Yifter (Ethiopia) and would probably have won 5,000 and 10,000 meters if there hadn't been a boycott of African countries. Lasse Viren has been in the dark for 4 years, but in Montreal it has been fantastic. Against these two PRE he would have had no hope of victory.
@@mauromerlotti8507, you remember wrong. Yifter was not so good 1973-76, even though took bronze in Munchen. His best years were 1977-1980.
Watch this race as many times as you want. It still stands in many ways as one of the greatest ever!
Man, would've been amazing to see Steve in '76...how much he would've improved, oh well, even in a loss...he was an inspiration and a joy to watch run, what an athlete.
califin. Yes, Pre had improved by 1975 (the year he died) BUT many others had improved much more, including as Clark Fox said, a whole raft of 1500m runners who moved up from the 1500m thinking they couldn't beat Walker/Bayi. Pre probably wouldn't have got to the final. The heats were fast and this was even without the African runners. Also, for some reason, Pre still didn't compete outside the US and never took the opportunity to build his experience against faster runners. He looked good against the weaker (at that time) USA runners causing many Americans to think he was far better than he actually was. I admired Pre cause he was a gutsy runner who always gave it all. Examine his best times over 1500m/mile and 5,000m. Clearly slower than his international rivals.
@@johnwilson5743 I don't think that Prefontain's style of running suited major championships. In reality his balls to the wall approach set races up for others to win. Had he made the 76 final, (big if) it would have been much the same result , but Dixon for the win and Viren and Quax for the minor medals.
That was 48 years ago. Stop. Lmfao
@@arsenioseslpodcast3143 You stop. Get outta here with your trolling.
He might have held all the US records but he never held a world record and was always second best when competing against the best Europeans. Basically hyped beyond his abilities by the cult of being an American.
Lasse Virén, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, the most accomplished 5000-10000 man of the 70's. Such a gteat race.
Pre lives . Amazing runner, gifted by God. God bless his soul. Thanks for all you did. 50 years since you left us and you are still in our hearts. Btw , I love your trail and I called " my peace of Heaven on Earth " I try to go everytime I get a chance. GO PRE!!!
I watched this race in 72. I was 11 years old. My first Olympics. Dave Wottle's race in the 800 is memorable, too. Great Prefontaine movie from 1997 with Jared Leto starring as Prefontaine.
Without limits with Billy crudup was a much better movie.
@@whatisdoneinthedarkwillbeb9204 I saw Crudup for the first time in a small role in the movie "Spotlight" and he was very good. I knew he played Prefontaine in his own movie, but haven't seen it yet.
@@huskerjpg I'll say if you like prefontaine, without limits is a much watch. I own both and both are great movies.
Check out "Without Limits", a far superior film, it makes the one with Jared Leto look amateurish by comparison. Crudup really came up with a tour de force of a performance as Pre, and Donald Sutherland was great as Bill Bowerman.
@@jaykay6387 Yes, the motel scene before the 1970 NCAA 5K championship race is pretty wild with one of his many good looking women!!
What is it about this race. I've seen it many times. I know the result. Yet each time I am gripped to the very ending, wondering if Pre might do it this time.
@Richard Milliken I agree Viren did blood dope. It was something very new at the time and Viren always peaked at the Olympics in terms of performance. He was a not that great of a runner during that eight year period but great at the Olympics. I remember Prefontaine easily beating Viren in an indoor two mile race on season.
Because you watch this with your heart not your mind
i am the same way. i also hate stewart each time for running for 4th the entire race only to take 3rd. It just adds to the Prefontaine mystique though. He is a true hero.
@@Grungebaby82Stewart was running for a medal. To much hero worship affects judgement.
@Chris Akers 🎵 I feel the same way. I know how you feel. I think it’s because: He kept exuding power at or very near the front. Some get 2nd or 3rd by surging from way at the back and sneak one in there. Prefontaine inspired because he was able to keep at the front and he finished an “exciting” 4th place! 💎❤️🇺🇸
For all his critics…..how many videos would you watch to see a man finish 4th! Rip big man….and we thank you for what was and could have been!
Pre ran an incredible race and 4:02 last mile. He was just in there with such elite accomplished runners. Look at the resumes of those guys and you can appreciate how great they were and how special it was for Pre to challenging them. 1st and 2nd place are legends
To BE challenging them.
pre was a once in a lifetime athlete who would have went on to do great things in 76 shame that he never got the chance
He was such a beast. Such a bright future of long distance running. 😢
He may not have won, but he was fearless
He gets a pass because he was 21 and not experienced at the international level, but he would have probably gotten the silver if he had just made one decisive move on that last lap. Not sure anyone could have beaten Viren in that race. It's really a shame we never got to see a more experienced Prefontaine in another Olympics.
Viren, was, unfortunately, blood doping during his career. It was not made illegal until 1986.
Steve kicked 3 times watching it is crazy because he almost made it happen
Recently switched from the marathon distance to 5k: I have a newfound respect for the 5,000. It is brutally painful no matter how great a tactician you are as a runner.
Amazing race, and the commentator is on point. Wish we had that quality calling today.
That commentator was the brilliant David Coleman. Did almost every sport!
a true inspiration right here
Steve could have coasted into 3rd place but gave it his all to try and win first place. That’s a champion rite there. RIP PrE
Bless ur soul Pre n RIP🙏
Thanks for the thrills n ride✌️
The Pre hype machine continues to roll along. He may have had great natural talent, and was a standout in the U.S., but on the international stage he was a novice when it came to tactics. In this race, he burned himself out by kicking several times in the closing stages, then absolutely ran out of gas at the end. Virren and Gammoudi owned him at the finish - where it counts. Yeah, the same Gammoudi who Billy Mills owned at the finish in '64.
Oh hello - Ian Stewart for Bronze!
Look how far behind Stewart was on the final bend yet he passed Steve like he was going backwards.
Not terribly surprising given his lack of experience and slightly younger age compared to the European medalists. Early pace was absolutely not to his advantage, either. Would have been nice to see him get another chance with another 4 years under his belt at Montreal, but sadly we didn't get to see that.
Knowing what we know now that viren blood doped, and prefontaine was inexperienced, kicking 3 times in 1800 meters. Probably would have gone different in 76
There's a street in Eugene OR named in honor of Steve Prefontaine.
4th street.
Mohammed Gammoudi - what an athlete! Four Olympic medals, including Gold over 5000m in Mexico 1968 and International Cross Country Champion in 1968.
Very underrated I was a fan of his.
If Pre had led from the start he may have worn the other runners down. He did good . Hey! he did his best. He came in fourth in the world and beat eight other runners at 21. Go Pre !!!!!
At 20 he came in 4th place out of 13. Better than a lot of us.
21, not 20.
Oh, didn't realise. 4th was rubbish then.
@@junemvalente6948 Yes, absolute rubbish
Better than a lot of us…ya think?
I hope people realize that 4th place, was the 4th best in the world. You have to be a beast just to get to the Olympics in most cases.
This is arguably Pre’s greatest race ever and he didn’t even win. A shame we didn’t get to see him in Montreal, I think he would have set the WR and won gold the same year.
We were all cheering for ya Pre.
ONE OF MY IDOLS
I was a elementary student when I knew about him I did track cause of him even tho soccer was my sport RIP legend NIKE 💯🙌🏻
Even in defeat Pre was an inspiration.
I remember before the race Pre said he was going to run the last mile in 4 minutes. It was considered a crazy statement. But he almost did it. 4:02. I also remember ABC's distance "expert" Erich Segal saying Pre was going to win the 5K.........in the 1976 Olympics. Tragically, Pre, who had the natural charisma, never got the chance.
Actually, it was not considered a crazy statement. Several runners knew they were capable of it as well and better.
Impresionante ♥️
Go Viren! You are the greatest!
Liz Lawson haters gonna hate
Viren was incredible, however his name is kind of tarnished considering he was suspected of blood doping according to the encyclopedia.
@@whatisdoneinthedarkwillbeb9204 u can always suspected every runners who win and are the best!! What about Kipchoge? Bekele? Mo Farah?
@@Team.L lol what do these athletes have to do with my comment? Like I pointed out it's in the encyclopedia, not my accusations a lot of other peoples accusations, i didnt right the encyclopedia. The New York times had a big article about it in the 70s.
Lasse Viren and other European distance runners are suspected of being strengthened by what is known as “blood doping-the” removal of a pint of the runner's blood, then the return of that same blood perhaps two weeks later. In that time his body has compensated for its absence.Aug 1, 1976

www.nytimes.com › archives
The Blood Scandal - The New York Times
@@whatisdoneinthedarkwillbeb9204 LOL so u trust what NY TIMES write 😂😂😂 they talk alot of S
Watched this amazing effort when I was 12.
Que grande pre, siempre al frente a un ritmo suicida👏
Wow. Just wow what a race
RIP Steve pre. It's an honor to wacth him run.. I ran track and cross country. Fastest mile was 4:56. 2 mile was 10:53. 3.1 was 16:42. Any mile under 5 minutes is very hard and painful. I saw a kid run 4:08 at states in the rain. It was incredible.
My fastest mile 4:21 and by all means took every once of energy
your 5k time significantly better than your 1 and 2 mile times.
Ran a mile in 4:31 in 1970 on dirt tracks, no Nike shoe's, !!!!!!
"Sort of an athletic Beatle." That's a helluva thing to be.
People seemed to have forgotten,in the welter of controversy about Viren,Bedford and Prefontaine that Ian Stewart ran a great race and won a bronze medal.Well done Ian.!
djangorheinhardt And if he and Prefontaine hadn’t barged into each other, could have won it. Ran the last 200 faster than Viren, I believe
@@andrewcrosthwaite3976 Prefontaine's best time going in was nowhere near Viren's.
Dang! If Pre won this race it would have been in my top two races ever! That guy had balls the size of beach balls!
Balls the size of beach balls? And he could still run with those? Wow!
@@richardthegingerbo909 No wonder he didn't get quite to the top.
@@PaulVinonaama Haha! Indeed.
Just ran out of gas. Feel bad for him. You could see in his body language that he knew he didn't have enough left in him for that last kick.
He did run out of gas and I believe that Lasse Viren amd some of the other runners were blood doping which wasn't illegal back then but unethical abd aiding them with their endurance for thay final kick.
@@jonathonbevers170 There's no evidence Viren did blood doping. It's generally best not to accuse people without evidence.
@@jonathonbevers170 You´re spreading only mischievous rumours without any kind of evidence :-(
@@Darenimo lol it's in the encyclopedia that many in the track world suspected lasse viren of blood doping little buddy.
@@ossitikkanen1335 Lasse Viren and other European distance runners are suspected of being strengthened by what is known as “blood doping-the” removal of a pint of the runner's blood, then the return of that same blood perhaps two weeks later. In that time his body has compensated for its absence.Aug 1, 1976

www.nytimes.com › archives
The Blood Scandal - The New York Times
You da man pre
NICE TO WATCH THIS
Best 5k of all time
This race was heartbreaking for Steve. Growing up in Oregon many supporters wore the Stop Pre shirts. He had for years to train for the 76 Olympics and was on his way for redemption. His car accident in 1975 broke alot of heart's of Oregon supporters. His death was and still is a very sad day in history.
Steve prefontaine, r.i.p. my hero
I never get tired of seeing this race. I still get butterflies. I was only 11 years old when I saw this race on TV. I was heartbroken to see Pre fall apart those last 10 meters to get beat out of the bronze. But knowing Pre, for him it was either the Gold or nothing. He should have run his race:
"The best pace is a suicide pace. And today it looks like a good day for dying."
"I am going to run so that it is a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win."
"Someone might beat me, but they're gonna have to bleed to do it."
Viren had to run a 4:00 final 1600 to win the race, which is astounding even by today's standards. Pre ran 4:02 the final 1600.
Only till you realise ethipia and kenya boycotted 72 and 76 and that yifter would have smoked all of them.
@@rajitrajpal7703 Yifter's final kick would come out of nowhere! His finishes were legendary!
@@rajitrajpal7703 Yifter only affected by 76 boycott. In 72 he simply failed to show up in time for his heat in the 5000. He won bronze in the 10k that year.
A race was a work of art to Pre.
Pre is a fucking beast. It's a shame he got caught but him finishing in 4th makes it a damn good race. Dude was a warrior on the track.
Wow I born that year and I love track and field
Great performance from pre. Should have had a medal after that.
In fairness to Pref, I recall reading articles in sports illustrated way back then. he lived in tiny little mobile home/trailer thing. Had no money. Things like that were typical of American Olympians at the time as the USA did not subsidize their athletes any way near as much as some other countries did
On the other hand, you could argue this made him tougher. I remember reading about the great Ethiopian champion and former WR holder in the marathon (PR of 2:03:59) Haile Gebrselassie who had to run to school and then back home, about 14 miles round trip. If he was late to either place, he was beaten. He had to carry his textbooks and because of doing that every day, his arm position on one side is not ideal. Sure, he and his fans could have made excuses because of this, but they didn't. Instead, he rose to his potential and became a tremendous champion.
gk10002000
That helped Pre actually.
you want to see poor, go to Kenya
@@JK-vc7ie No it didn't. After he graduated he had to work part time, didn't eat right, and drank too much. This days he would have been in a structured program. Heck, if he had only lived a little longer he could have taken advantage of the changes that he worked so hard for. He would have made a decent salary from Athletics West by about 1978
@@marjorieanderson8626 That's not necessarily better.
Having watched this race a few times now it's interesting how nostalgia affects peoples opinions on it. Most congratulating Pre on his never say die attitude and gutsy race. As unpopular as my view may be, the reality is that he wasted his chance. He was better than 4th, but he wasted energy on numerous occasions bursting to the front and running outside lane one, thus running extra distance. If he'd tucked in and allowed others to make the running, he could easily have gone with 300 to go and finished strongly. Possible not enough to win the race, but he certainly could have won a medal. The reality is that he ran an extremely naive race and other more experienced runners benefited from that naivety!
The ads at both the beginning and the end of the video are BEYOND annoying!!
Say what you want about Pre. He always ran to win.
but here he didn't
Pre was young and maybe he needed the next Olympics which was the a sad thing. However, I watch the race and see that Prefontaine didn't push it hard enough early, Viren never had to work very hard and he always had the last 200 meters there to pull out in his pocket. Prefontaine did all the hard work in the last mile and Viren made him pay.
Lasse Virén: the master.
Being a big fan of Steve I wish Steve hadn’t surged on the back side , he should have reserved some for the kick . I think he should have gotten at least a bronze medal . 🙏😢
Es el mejor 4to lugar que vi
Go Pre!
Pre was all ❤️
Prefontaine, de gran resistencia y velocidad de ritmo, siempre lo avasallaba el impetu de estar al frente cuando alguien lo rebasaba y esto de alguna manera estropeaba su estrategia, ya que, se quedaba sin fuerzas para el remate, en Munich le ganaron dos experimentados, Gaumudi, campeón olímpico en México 68, y el fuera de serie Lasse Viren.
I always thought they hit the 3200m mark 8-12 seconds slow for Pre to win it. He did not have the kick of Gammoudi or Viren. Maybe had it gone out a bit faster he burns some of the kick out of their legs.
Interesting. I was watching a video on TH-cam just yesterday where Prefontaine - just out of high school - races against Marty Liquori, Frank Shorter and another excellent runner (whose name I just forgot) in a two mile race and in that race, Pre twice on the back straight fights himself to retake the lead, only to burn himself out in the home stretch. And here, he does it, also.
Gerry Lindgren was the other runner and won the race.
Un campeón aunque no haya ganado una medalla.
Europeans are too prideful about this subject. Pre was a badass, through and through. The reason he is so great and admirable is the way he runs, however ineffective you may think it is. He ran this race when he was young, and were he to come back in his absolute prime I reckon we’d see that magic he so wanted to create
Prefontaine was okay in keeping pace but his kick just wasn't good enough against the world's best no matter how early he started.
Anyone know, if the whole race is on TH-cam? Thanks for posting!
Such a sad story
his 4th position in munich 72 and milkha singhs 4th at rome 60 are my favorite
I didnt see one e. African runner. This was the moment for Pre to shine. We will have to be satisfied with the legend of Prefontaine. Doesnt get any better than the Olympics. Win Win for Pre.
Defending Champion Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia was second!
@@tommytempo1 His name got lost in all the attention given to both Prefontaine and Viren. Unless you are a true track and Field fan, the name of Mohammed Gammoudi will hardly register.
I must be a true athletics fan then! Gammoudi, three times Olympic medallist and defending champion and Ian Stewart's efforts seem to be disregarded in this thread.
@@tommytempo1 Thank you! Sometimes it's hard to breathe under the weight of the Pre man-crush on these videos. Sure he was a tough runner - like everyone else who toed the line that day.
@@jameshaney171 - John, if you want to see the performances of E African runners in the '72 Olympics you could watch the following : 400m hurdles - John Akii-Bua (UGA); 800m - Mike Boit (KEN); 1500m - Boit; 3000m steeple - Kip Keino + Ben Jipcho (KEN); 10000m - Miruts Yifter (ETH); Marathon - Mamo Wolde (ETH); all of whom medaled. Those are just off the top of my head - there could be more.
It might also be worth noting that Yifter was registered for the 5000m but inexplicably missed the start of his qualifying heat (seems like it was blamed on time zone misunderstanding).
Pre , bad Boys never die!
Es increíble lo bien que hicieron la película. Quedó igual. Piensas: "no puede haber sido tan soquete" pero sí, lo fue.
“I can be beaten, but you’re gonna have to bleed to beat me”
❤
Bro he has guts
He seemed to try gamesmanship of surging several times to throw the other runners off their planned pace. Did not work in the end, but close.
@@bfc3057 in 75 prefontaine ran 13.21, viren won in 13.24 in 76 pre had potential to beat viren. Blood doping while not illegal under Olympic rules in the 70s was already a controversial issue and considered unethical. Viren won the 5k set a world record in the 10k and a few days later placed 5th in the marathon which he wasnt a marathoner, not being illegal doesnt mean he wasnt cheating just that his method of cheating wasnt outlawed yet.
@@larrymant1484 btw all the track athletes you named went down because of floyd Landis, they were not doing anything others arent in today's track and field. Yes infact almost all elite runners do use some or many forms of p.e.d.s I know from training with them and this was 20plus years ago when michael Johnson and mo green were tearing up the sprints for the USA and justin was in college getting in trouble for prescribed medication.
At 12:00, with a lap and a half left, when Pre goes past Viren, the Finn's concern is totally palpable. Pre was the total wild card here. Viren knew he could outkick, and easily, everyone but Pre. Pre whizzing around him with 600m to go was the LAST person Viren wanted to see doing that.
How tragic that there was no Montreal rematch.
Pre set this race up for the others to medal.
Gamodi 🇹🇳
God bless you legend
His running form is a thing of beauty, for sure.
He wood have won in 1976 !!!!!
For all those saying pre did this or didn’t do that…ask yourself this! How many videos you watched looking to see who finished 4th place….have a nice day!
Y eso q antes no abia tanta tengologia como en la actualidad. En el deporte
Strange his passing and then suddenly letting up at around 150m, going into the final curve. I don't know what was going on there.
It was his thing to make use of surges and he was a definitely great race competitor, but frankly in the last 600 he wasted a lot of energy needlessly trying to put people away with those little bursts of flat-out.
At this level nobody is impressed or discouraged by such displays and it left him with nothing left in the tank for the stretch. The bronze medalist did have a whole lot left, so maybe in the end it wouldn't have made any difference in his placing 4th.
He was still a junior in college, 21 years old, in this race....and very inexperienced as the commentator points out. The surges were bluffs obviously and worked for him in college competition where he was generally the favorite and everyone was afraid of him. That same tactic against the best runners in the world would simply not work. Also, what a lot of people from other countries don't understand about amateur athletics in the United States during this time was that the governing body of track and field was immensely corrupt and would only allow athletes like Prefontaine to compete where it would make them money while at the same time making the athletes live on $3/day. They didn't have the support or the race schedule they needed to really excel. Most of the other athletes were given government jobs in their home countries that were essentially titles only that would allow them to train full time while Prefontaine was forced to be a bartender at night to pay his bills.
I still think Pre ran a great race and made it exciting for the crowd. He really was a great showman.
@@thesloth5662 Dead on!! Pre made the mistake of not taking the initial lead and forcing a fast pace where only he would've had the true guts to win a race where everybody bleeds and blows lunch after the race! Pre should've never listened to Bowerman's racing stategy of running in the middle of the pack and allowing such a slow pace where he has no chance of winning against more experienced runners that had better kicks. Pre also ran a good part of the race in the 2nd lane which caused him to run an extra 89.8 yards, where as Viren only ran an extra 19 yards.
@@richardmilliken5651 Brilliant analysis Richard… Especially Pre’s running all those extra yards… That could’ve been the difference between fourth and gold.
Here after reading shoe dog!
at 3:25 I'm not sure if that is when Pre started to feel the pain or if he just made a bad decision and settled. Because it looks like he is going to make one last move and go in to first but he almost settles in when he should have passed
Looks to me like he shot his wad with those two wild surges on the backstretch, when he was trying to pass Gammoudi to take the lead. He had nothing left after that.