Steve Prefontaine is the greatest endurance runner of all time | Zach Bitter and Lex Fridman
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- Опубліковано 29 лип 2021
- Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Zach Bitter: Ultramara...
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Zach Bitter is a ultramarathon runner and coach.
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Steve is the man. Without Limits is a fantastic depiction of his life and events at the time. Pure guts man. Legend. PRE.👊💯
Without Limits is one of my all time faves, even though it does take a few liberties and compress/combine a few events. Donald Sutherland’s opening and closing monologues are pinpoint on target about Pre
This clip got me interested in learning about Steve Prefontaine. I didn't know ANYTHING about the man or his story. There's something captivating about him, the triumph, the tragedy, etc. Whatever it is, it's inspired and pushed me on my runs this summer. Thanks Pre!
Geb, Bekele, El Geurrouj, & Kipchohe r the goats
Saïid Aouita ua-cam.com/video/kyC73RYjoqc/v-deo.html
Best and greatest are two completely different things
100%.. Pre had no closing sprint speed in the last 200 meters.. I highly doubt he could run a quarter under 58 seconds.. Bekele closed sub 50 🤣🤣
@@33moneyball Semantics. There are like 20 long distance runners who had faster time than him. He cannot be the greatest
@@williammartin8459 he ran a 57 in a mile
Pre was a huge inspiration growing up
Somewhere in Kenya there are millions of runners saying, "not so fast."
GREAT PIECE GENTLEMAN.. thank you for a real PROFESSIONAL understanding about distance runner history .I needed to hear this so that everyone gets it... very cool
Only recently learned about Pre, pretty inspirational.
Awesome interview Lex !!
Pre is my all-time favourite runner. I spent over 3 years in HI in the 70s, and unbelievably, had the privilege to know Max Telford. Great guy, and THE distance runner of all-time.
The greatest distance runner of all time has to be Emil Zatopek. He broke 18 world records at several distances, had a 6 year winning streak in the 10k and won 5 Olympic gold medals. He even invented interval training. But what puts him over the top is the impossible triple in the 1952 Olympics, winning the 5K, 10k and Marathon.
Paavo Nurmi. 9 olympic gold medals and 22 world records....
You're gonna pick a guy who has PRs of 13:57 and 28:54 for greatest distance runner of all time?
@@christophermyers9427 yes I will
@@christophermyers9427 When you consider that Zatopek ran those times over 70 years ago, and with todays super-fast mondo tracks, the incredible improvements in training & nutrition, and the super fast running shoes since 2016, The Great Emil Zatopek would've been the 1st runner under 26 minutes for the 10K and the 1st runner under 12:30 for the 5K and the 1st runner under 2 hours in an open marathon that wasn't staged and paced the entire way like Kipchoge's marathon that was under 2 hours. The icing on the cake is that Zatopek's Wife won an Gold Olympic Medal in the Javelin throw at the 1952 Olympic Games and Emil could speak 6 languages fluently. The great Zatopek accomplished 3 Olympic Gold Medals in the 1952 Olympics by winning the 5K, 10K, and the Marathon. The great Lasse Viren tried to duplicate Zatopek's Olympic performance but came up short in the 1976 Olympic Marathon by finishing 5th place.
Muhammad Ali is still the greatest heavyweight boxer & athlete of all-time. Ali's Boxing ERA was during the Golden Days of Heavyweight Boxing and he dominated from 1960-1978. From 1960-1967, before he was suspended from Boxing for 3.5 years, he was unbeatable and his hand-speed has still never been matched. Ali landed 15 punches on Brian London in 2.8 seconds in 1966. Even the great Sugar Ray Robinson the GOAT P4P Boxer, said Ali was faster with his fists than him.
@@kahlis Nurmi had very little competition and i would have to place Zatopek, Bikila, Viren, Gebrasiaill, Bekele, Kipchoge ahead of Nurmi.
Abebe Bikila, Frank Shorter, Bill Rodger, Paavo Nurmi, Vladimir Kurt’s, Emile Zatopek, there a plethora of great runners.
All my best times came from front running. Drag people out of their comfort zone and they melt. There was this kid who did the same thing but was way faster than me and he’d always die towards the end, until his junior year. Then his conditioning caught up and he was a monster
It's so weird, my best times came from having the right coach to teach me how to build my kick better. It took me years to finally understand that 10 meters with a half lap to go means nothing if you have confidence you can cover your final turn faster than the previous 3 on that lap.
Prefontaine lived in my neighborhood in Eugene near the UofO when I was a kid. No one in the neighborhood even realized who he was until he died. Sad that he died so young.
Um lots of ppl “realized Who he was”
You're being sarcastic right!!?? Prefontaine was more popular in Eugene than Muhammad Ali or Pope John. They should've renamed Eugene to Prefontaine. No USA Runner till this day, was more popular than "Pre" was in Eugene.
@@richardmilliken8705thejames Dean gunslinger of the West Eugene..
Viren, Farah, Zatopek not even mentioned...COME On guys! I'm from Scotland and totally get why Prefontaine is considered so special (I even enjoyed the 1997 film about him recently)...but you guys surely need to see more things beyond the USA. I'm sure he would have been box office in Montreal '76, but we'll never know just how good he was compared to other international athletes (especially Viren). Ian Stewart (who ran Pre down for bronze in '92) was also a fascinating character in athletics...and a total beast! Pre wasn't the only guy in the '72 race to be disappointed with the final placings.
Imagine what Postfontaine would have been capable of
You are a blurblurbapbap
@@FredoCorleone what
I know man.....a damn shame.
4real. Lost somethin special. Dude was built different. Pure guts.
I think he was capable of 5th or 6th in the '76 5000m.
@@clarkfox6975I think that is probably spot on. He would have made the 76 final faster , (sub 13.20) but I don't think his style of running suited championship racing. All things being equal and the same runners in, my predicted finish order would be 1 Dixon. 2 Quax .3 Viren . 4 Foster. 5 Hildebrand. 6 Prefontaine. (Quax or Viren could be in either position)
Interesting to note that Paul Geis , who was "the new Pre" at Oregon finished way down the field.
PS , I am possibly a little biased coming from New Zealand.
Congrats, you just found an American runner who was both alive at the time and didn't even know who Pre was. 🙋
Jim Ryun, Dave Wottle, Frank Shorter, Bill Rogers - these were some of the ones I knew and were inspired by.
My Dad scored stadium tickets for the '76 Olympics in Montreal. It was the day of the initial 5,000 meter heats, what could have been.
Gotta be forest gump. No question
One time indoors a NZ runner pulled him along to a great time 8:18. Pre had an incredible 6m, I think he ran 26:46 or so. It appeared to be a better distance for him
It's Kenenisa Bekele and it's really not complicated
Bekele hands down!
No word about Yiannis Kouros?
Prefontaine ran a 5K in 13:22… that’s just absolutely insane. Been running for 4 years now my best is 24 mins. 190 lbs here, but still. Nuts.
@A R Id be interested in that, im like 180-190 with a 49:40 10k PR looking to improve
A great time but nowhere near the record at the time of Emil Puttemans, the Belgian who ran 13:13.
And now people can run faster than that, multiple times in a row.
4real bro...thats an insane time. When he was im high school i think, Pre ran the 2 mile at like 8:40 or somethin.....
@@gary1961 Indeed! Unfortunately for Puttemans, he was unable to peak at the Olympic Games & get a hold of that "reindeer milk" that Lasse Viren used, which enabled Viren to peak at the 1972 Olympic Games & again at the 1976 Olympic Games. Apparently, Lasse trained 3 times a day, at 8,200 feet above sea-level/altitude in Kenya for 3 months and then Finland's Team Doctor withdrew the super potent blood from Viren and injected it back into his blood-stream, three day before the Olympic Games started & he was good to go. That Reindeer blood/wink, wink worked like a charm for Viren and his teammate in the 1976 Olympic 1500m run as he blew the doors off Keino, in the final lap.
We also have to give credit to Viren being the master of Racing strategy, he was 2nd to none & he ran against some really good competition. The 1976 Olympic 5K was stacked and Viren pulled another rabbit out of his hat again. Reindeer milk was legal back then, so Lasse didn't break any Olympic rules.
6:55 I don’t know if it makes it amazing
The takeaway is more that we shouldn’t focus on these things that seem to ‘make or break’ people as opposed to more accurately
2:28 well that is a hard way to put it, he had the qualities and was able to develop them in the right direction
What a lot of people don’t realize is Pre got fourth, but he went all out with 300m left because he wanted Gold. He could’ve sat and kicked and surely have gotten a medal, but his ‘guts’ unfortunately hurt him tactically. I don’t think anybody would argue that if you actually watched the race from start to finish.
Also, I agree that he isn’t in the conversation for best runner of all time. But at the time, he was a trailblazer on not just a national but an international level without very much help from the US. It’s much easier to be a Lebron James when there was already a Michael Jordan.
My personal opinion for best distance runner of all time is Sebastian Coe. Through his events he had really solid times from everything from the 800 all the way to the 5k. Throw in some olympic, worlds medals and world records - but the man was a specialist and can compete on an international level in multiple distances.
The pace was too slow allowing big kickers to won the race. Viren was so good it was ridiculous. Ingebritsen is better
That's all very well about the 1972 race, but all you're saying really is that he got his tactics wrong, relied on guts instead of brain, and was outsmarted. It's good that he has inspired so many US runners, and obviously tragic that he died, but some of the claims made for him are ridiculous. I was a competitor in a small way in those days, and the word in Europe was that he was mainly a bullshitter who talked a good race -- and so it proved when it came to it. Coe was good, but there was no joy in him. He's still the same now. Steve Ovett was more loved, and still is. I ran against him -- that is to say, I was in the same race -- and I'd have needed a motorbike to get near him. And he was a nice guy with it.
@@user-co1wf3oj7g also he was beaten by two confirmed blood dopers which was allowed until the 80s
You said everything right.. although your state about COE is off target.. professionally speaking
@@TIMDELANEY-jf9roindeed suspect cloud ridiculous
Emil Zatopek is far better….Olympic champion in 1952 in the 5k, 10k and the marathon. Pre is famous for losing in one of the slowest 5k finals taking 4th in a tactical race in the 72 Olympics. He was great for the sport but his tragic death makes him the James Dean of running.
Front runner.
The man was a front runner and made it 4th in olympics
Never got to see his prime. He would have had a great chance in 1976.
The greatest distance runners of all-time are Zatopek, Nurmi, Bikila, Viren, Gebrasiaill, Bekele, and Kipchoge in my humble opinion. The icing on the cake is that Zatopek was one of the nicest guys that you'll ever meet & his wife also won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1952 Olympics in the Javelin Throw and Emil could speak 6 languages fluently.
I was a very good H.S middle-distance runner during the late 60s & early 70s when most of the top southern californian H.S. runners were running well over 100 miles per week and we were doing the same monster interval training that Jim Ryun had used from 1963-1965. I just missed breaking 1:52 for the half mile and ended up placing 6th in the California All-states in 1972. Back to Pre, had Steve ran like he normally did, by forcing a fast pace, he would've broke everybody except Viren. Lasse had that high-powered reindeer blood from training at 8,200 feet altitude in Kenya, 6 months prior to the 1972 Olympic Games. He ran at altitude 3 times per day, and was averaging between 160 -180
miles per week, for 3 solid months, so he had absolute "primo-blood" in his system after 3 incredible months of training balls to the wall. Well, The Finnish Doctor & his coach who were supervising his training, had several pints of blood withdrawn from Lasse and 3 days before the Olympic Games started in 1972, that high-test primo blood was reinfused back into Virens blood system and there was no way in h*ll that anyone was going to beat him in the 5K or the 10K. Lasse is also the smartest & GOAT when it comes to racing strategy. There has never been anyone close to him when it comes to racing at the highest level. So even if Pre did the same reindeer milk/wink, wink, blood doping that Viren did, he wasn't going to outsmart or outwork Viren. The only shot Steve had at winning an Olympic Gold Medal was in the Marathon and in 1980, the USA boycotted those games, so it wasn't in the cards for Steve, even if he didn't get killed in an autocrash.
Zatopek always looked like he was dying out there, his face was filled with pain & a grimaced look on his face. Emil wasn't a pretty runner to watch like the smooth Lasse Viren, Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, Eucilid Kipchoge and inthe middle-distances, Seb Coe was pure poetry and at 5'9" at 118lb, he just floated off the ground smoothly and he had the greatest kick over the last 100 meters where in his best kick, he was clocked in 11.2 seconds over the last 100 meters in a 1,500 meter race. Only Coe had that extra gear and even though i was older than him, i followed him, Ovett, and Cram and all 3 of them were amazing in the middle-distance races.
@@richardmilliken8705 "Back to Pre, had Steve ran like he normally did, by forcing a fast pace, he would've broke everybody except Viren." Can you expand on this?
@@MindShock Nobody was going to beat the ultimate blood-doper, Lasse Viren in the 1972 Olympics or the 1976 Olympics in the 5K & 10K. Even to this day, no one has run over 180 miles per weak like Viren did in training on the steep hills in Kenya for close to 4 months straight by running/training 3 times per day. After that intense training the Finnish Doctors took some of that
high-powered- rocket fuel-blood and 10 days before the Olympic Games began, it was infused back into his body and became unbeatable. Lasse was the smartest
long-distance runner of All-time, and his 4 Olympic Gold Medals proves just how great Viren really was.
Prefontaine could've taken control of the race right from the beginning
(front-running) and forced a fast pace in which only Viren would be able to hang with him at the end. Blood doping was legal during the 70s and the "Flying Finns" took full advantage of it.
No but he is the most talked about.
What about Veeeren??? He won both 5k and 10k golds in two consecutive Olympics ( 72, 76) FIRST runner to do it
Blood doper tho
Hard to look up to something in achievable legally let alone ethically
Viren, cheater.
Lasse Viren?
@@fastinradfordableEnglish please?
With Track surface upgrades, shoes technology and analytics Pre would hold pretty much every American record
Giannis Kouros is the greatest distance runner ever!There's no doubt it!His records are unbeatable
The title of this video is not what Zach says. Why is Gebralassie not in the title?
The greatest endurance runner of all time is David Goggins.
The greatest in Marathon is Eliud.
The 10k is shared between Bekele and Halie Gebrselassie.
The greatest in 800m is David Rudishia.
The greatest in 1500m is Hicham El Guerrouj.
The most impressive record of all time in track and field is Daniel Komen 7:20 in the 3000m.
Goggins doesnt win alot of the races he's in.
Komens records are so underrated, only guy to run a sub 8 minute 2 mile too
@@yoonjeongsoo9378 that's true but he raced 8 100miles races in 2 months consecutive. Beat that man. MERRY CHRISTMAS mate
@@tmar5473 that's true and the best thing is that his record in de 3k is unbeatable. In 100 years it won't be baeten.
David Goggins isn’t even close
Kipchoge easily takes the title now...
Marothoner, maybe. He wasn’t among the greats in 5 and 10k in the track, which are the real blue ribband events.
@@HkFinn83 That's where you're wrong, he has world championship medals in those events.
@@hlulanizitha9920 that makes you ‘the greatest endurance runner of all time’? Read more carefully
Billy mills is an American hero as well
If prefontaine had used Billy mills tactics, he would have won gold.
Billy far exceeds Pre in my estimation. Sadly does not get near the recognition though.
2:04 why not all?
“Haley Gebralassie” 😂
Greatest American runner
I'm a Pre fan but...he wasn't even the best American runner during his heyday, that was Frank Shorter.
Title a bit misleading but the convo was actually a bit better than I was expecting. I love Pre but nobody who knows anything about distance running is going to say he was the best
distance runner of all time. That being said, he was the best American at that time by leaps and bounds and was inspirational to many. His spirit is bound up in the whole Nike mythology, which was begun by Phil Knight and Bowerman. Heading into Montreal in '76, I think he could have medaled in the 10k based upon how his times were trending, but who knows.
It's amazing how somebody's life takes on so many different meanings to so many people. When you hear contemporaries talk about Pre, you'll hear everything under the sun about him, that he was just an arrogant drunk or that he was this larger than life, charismatic superman in spikes. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, but that isn't as interesting of a story.
Also, Gold medalist Viren was almost certainly using blood transfusions (which weren't illegal at the time) to increase his red blood cell count just before races.
@@bruitdefond Yes, they were calling that "blood doping" at that time. And it was an "open secret" that he was doing it, I remember discussion about it during coverage of the 72 Olympic T&F coverage. I think the "feeling in the air" was that it wasn't quite "fair", but then again it technically wasn't against the rules so there was nothing that could be done about it. And there was sort of this air or aura of "mystery" surrounding Viren. He didn't really race all that much compared to other world class runners, but he'd pop up at the Olympics and win.
Didn’t the other runners have “govt” jobs and prefontaine had to eat hot dogs? Gunna guess that affected him
@@brycepurser9060 I'm running in the Olympics next week. What's for dinner?
Three beers and a hot dog.
I said I'm running in it, not fricking watching it on TV.
Prefontaine was indeed an influence and could be considered the greatest in the USA track scene, although there are other more worthy contenders, such as Arturo Barrios (world record 10000m) Alberto Salazar, Frank Shorter, Olympic champion...etc. However, that does not elevate him to GOAT status. He had no prominence internationally, set no international marks and his times were nothing to shout about. What he could have been with more experience and training is speculation. The title of GOAT must go to someone who influenced and dominated the sport internationally, such as Nurmi, Zatopek, Rono, Viren, Gebrselassie, Farah, who genuinely "owned" distance running. For me Gebrselassie is the GOAT as he dominated distance running for almost 20 years, from the 1500m to the marathon, including 27 world records. Prefontaine is an idol because of his tragic early demise, but that does not make him a great athlete, much less the worlds greatest distance runner. Perhps Mr. Bitter should consider facts over emotion for his assessment.
Well said Francis. I do get Prefontaine's inspirational qualities, but there's no way of assessing his true worth beyond the States. I often observe just how introverted the States is about so many sporting issues like this, probably because it's such a huge country and probably feels like the size of the world from within! I'm glad you included Farah in your list...Olympics double double over 5000m and 10,000m (to match Viren) is not to be sniffed at! Ian Stewart (who ran Pre down in '72 for the bronze) was also a fascinating character in that race in Munich. He went into that race with considerable self- belief and (like Pre) was disappointed with the outcome.
Now Jakob ingebrigsten is making his case
Yiannis Kouros!
we need him on podcast while he is still alive!
What about that cHick ultra marathoner who beats v everyone
prefontaine won 25 straight races before his death what other runner could you say will definetly win this race 100 percent
Bekele was undefeated at 10k from 2003-2011 and this includes Olympics and world championships. Pre never even won a medal at any world level appearance. Pre is very inspiring but there is no argument for him being the greatest. Teenagers break his 5k PR every year
@@Whale15 that 5k time was in the 60's and 70's. Its the equivalent of sub 13 nowadays
probably more accurate to say "most inspirational"
He's inspirational to the cult, but that's it.
@@clarkfox6975 strange take
Cheserek (OR) Rono (WA St) Lindgren (WA St) and Pre (OR) , the only runners to win 3 NCAA Cross Country titles, nobody has ever won 4.
At the time of his death Pre held every American record from 2000 to 10K .
The dude was a beast
Love Pre!!! Its not worth winning if you hold back 4\5ths to win ..at the end!!! Lol ..he said it wouldn't be a win if he didn't give it all and holding back was wrong
So that would explain why he loligagged around in the 5000m finals in 72, sometimes taking a turn at the lead, sometimes dropping back to pace along in the pack, rinse and repeat. Much like Viren and several others in the race. Because he was always going all out, leading off the front, always trying to break everyone from the gun! Just give it a break already - he showed up at the Olympics and got owned on the final lap. The end.
exactly well said@@clarkfox6975
Abebe Bekila won the marathon barefoot! 🐐🐐🐐
There are many different runners. You can’t compare a middle distance runner to a long distance runner. Marathons and ultras are way different than 5K and 10K. Then you have the mile which is a completely different game. Pre was great! He inspired so many and was truly the first and maybe the only Rock Star distance runner. Was he the best ever? Pre was Pre. No one ever ran like him. That being said, I just want to remember him as Pre and the way he inspired so many to run…
@myronlarimer
Was Pre the best ever Oregon runner perhaps … the best American middle distance runner No. the best ever ??? Not even close. Hicham el Gerrouj had dozen world records and a mile time that has not been broken yet in 25 years and an Olympic gold and silver and Daniel Komen in 2 years had a 30 race winning streak and a 3000m indoor time that no one has touched yet and I still don’t think they can be called greatest runners . We can speculate that if he lived he might have got gold in Montreal but it’s all a speculation . Look up P Nurmi record prior to Olympics 75 races without a loss , now that legendary
The greatest marathoners have typically been 10000m runners first, such as Shorter, Lopes, Jones, Gebrselasse, Seko, Drayton. the speed and strength along with controlled pacing provided by 10000m track running are invaluable to run a fast marathon from the very first one.
Also the greatest driver and drinker 😎
Bogus but funny 😆
Funny, but not funny.
Zatopek, Geb, or Kipchoge
Over those Kenyan and Ethiopian guys? How?
Imagine if Pre could see Nike today.
How can you say that why he took fourth in the olympics? I think he would have had a good chance tater on also but we will never know.
Love Pre and still think his '72 Olympics run was a portrait in grit, however S. Prefontaine wasn't even the best runner of his generation. Lasse Viren would have something to say about this.
Tom Longboat. There are stories of Tom running from the Reserve to a long distance running event, winning the race, then running home afterwards. It’s unfortunate so many great Native American athletes have been ignored over the years. It took a century for Jim Thorpe’s gold medals to be returned to him.
Thanks for enlightening me this guys a legend
Look at Billy Mills!
He was a pretty great runner by all accounts but that’s about it. From what I was told by a few people who went to high school with him (I’m from Coos County) he was just a gifted athlete but was an asshole to everyone around him and lazy as hell. Skipped practice, smoked pot and drank in school, and made sure everyone knew how great he was.
Although, one of those people was also a distance runner and may have been biased. All I know is Marshfield high school and Coos Bay still worship him like Jesus.
Definitely the Mickey Mantle of running.
The thing that makes people like steve prefontaine is he didnt have the body for long distance running. He didnt have strategy.
greatest endurance runner of all time - American, not world wide
Prefontaine didn't run to medal in the Munich Olympics. He ran to win.
The world does not exist outside of America
Not true, but there are first world, second world, and third world countries.
Lmao. That was funny
I love Fontaine but this just isn't true
It's a misleading title compared to how they talk about him.
That's not a name you hear everyday, let alone the lack of knowledge of his importance to Nike
i say emil zatopek from the czech republic just look what he did, then least we forget lasse viren from finland...i think they beat out pre..
Courtney Duwalter
Most serious runners would say Geb, Bekele or Kipchoge are the greatest distance runners of all time. Pre was sensational at popularizing running in America in the 70s but nowhere near the top.
The greatest endurance athlete of all time is yannis kouros. He would outlast any of these guys long after they have collapsed.
☑️✅
A great competitive runner has to be able to handle prolonged agony.
This just pissed me off lol not even the best american
Pre is nowhere near the conversation of greatest runner. Zach is right that Haile is in the GOAT conversation. Prefontaine was a charismatic runner but nowhere near the best of his decade let alone all time.
My interpretation is that he mentioned Steve due to how inspirational he is for runners and not that he was the out and out best, that's why he said "I can go in 2 directions", statistically the best and inspirational the best
@@Disconnected.Genius Thats fair, it wasnt helped by the fact Lex has poor knowledge of running and track & field evidently.
Check out the above video…Zach describes what he means within the first sentence talking about Prefontaine.
Prefontaine never won anything internationally and never broke a world record.
Those damn Kenyans man nobody beating them
kipchoge hands down
I think he’s speaking about Pre from a platform much larger than just statistics. Statistically Pre is not in the conversation. There is a lot more to running than just your time.
False, he won the 5k at the 1971 Pan American games, which isn't anywhere near the olympics but is a credible international competition.
@@kevingass4017 it's not really, it doesn't have the best distance runners on the planet in it.
Unlikely
Courtney Dewalter...
Kipchoge. It’s quite obvious.
Cmon man
Steve Prefontaine is not even top twenty. Granted he passed away before we could really see his full potential.
Even with new shoe tech - think about Kipchoge. 1:59 exhibition marathon 2:01 competition marathon. The question was about endurance right. Case closed. Kipchoge not only has superior endurance but maybe runs with the most pure form and technique ever. At this point in time the greatest endurance runners in the world live in Kenya and Ethiopia. Not really a debate either.
Are you kidding!!! Pre??? Sorry but Alberto Salazar finished sub 2:09 and dominated the sport for two years where three years prior folks were running 2:12 times. Pre won nothing outside the USA.
Alberto cheater.
@@fishtrout9424 in those times, they were all cheating and it was not just the East German women’s swimming team! Pre won a Gold Medal in Pan American Games, that’s it! Overhyped and overrated. He was far from the best for his era (Alberto aside).
Hm.. he never beat Viren or won a Gold medal or world championship. Best American endurance runner.
Teenagers break Pre’s 5k PR every year. It’s a tough argument to say he’s the best runner of all time.
With that logic, no great early athlete was that great. Factor in shoe technology and track surface, he is absolutely still a marvel. If he wasn't, there would not be the Mecca to Oregon almost 50 years later.
@@demiloca not sure about that. In some instances that might be true, but Prefontaine is so far away from the best times it’s hard to even hypothetically imagine him being competitive with the best. Maybe you can make a case for his cultural impact in the United States...
Prefontaine was the gutsiest runner the US ever produced. Sadly he died before his prime.
Pre shouldn’t even be in this conversation. It’s the early death legend syndrome.
It is more a sense of what could have been since he was so young when he died. The greatness and potential for more greatness was there and we’ll never know what he could have done.
A Tarahumara in Mexico said "hold my taco"
They never made it on the track.
They don’t do track. They do trail ultras in homemade sandals.
Lets be honest; Pre's tactics left lots to be desired. that's youth... had he lived, with better coaching, Dude would have been the GOAT
I don't see how you could possibly argue that Pre's the GOAT
Zatopek if really pay attention. Prefontaine is not even in same sentence with all those guys. Seriously he doesn't really win anything internationaly value.
To utter criticism of Pre almost seems disgusting. BUT... Americans have a false belief in his ability. I agree that he was admired because he was a gutsy runner. But that was also his downfall on the International scene. His race tactics at International level were poor. He was only good in relation to other American runners. Internationally he never won anything and he was actually quite slow in his best times. Pre was young and naieve and inexperienced Internationally in 1972 when he ran 4th. Yes, he should have finished at least 3rd but he chanced it all to win... and lost out. We admired him for his attempt.
In fact, by the time of the 1976 Olympics, he would have been lucky to have even qualified for the final.
(Eventually the 76 Games were boycotted by the African Countries so this became a moot point) But even my small Country of New Zealand had 5 runners alone at 5,000m that were faster than Pre in 75/76!
With Walker and Bayi dominating the 1500m, a number of very fast 800m runners had moved up to 1500m. Traditionally, Olympic Finals are "slow" because no pacemakers were running and it was all about Winning, rather than times and they planned to win with their fast finishing ability. So, about 6 or 7 top 800m runners moved up to 1500m. (A number "doubled" 800/1500m) Realising this, a big bunch of 1500m guys then moved up to 5000m. Pre could NEVER have matched them. Not only did they have faster 5k times than him but were considerably faster (as 1500m runners) in the last laps. For 5k we had Dick Quax, Rod Dixon, Richard Taylor, and another 4 or 5 that were better/faster than Pre and that was just New Zealand. World-wide there were at least 30 FASTER than Pre in 1975/76.
As I said, Pre would probably not even make the final at 5000m in 76, if he had run.
So yes, Pre had a big positive effect on US middle distance athletics but please keep thing realistic.
I toured the US in 76 with a bunch of our guys, on our way to Montreal. Our guys moped up the US runners we met and had hoped to race against Pre and the other top US runners but, sadly , he had died in 75.
All that stuff about Pre having to fight for income, getting food-stamps etc. Hello! That was the case for us all. I worked 3 jobs to enable myself to travel to Aust/Europe and the US/Canada to compete. That was the norm back then. Ok, Walker, Dixon and Quax did ok with Sports company sponsorship but the rest of us had to hustle. But they were winners and world record holders: Pre was not!
Lasse Viren?
Guy cheated #blood doping
@@Brianj69 what proof you have?
Eliud Kipchoge is the best endurance runner of all time but prefontaine was amazing
Kipchoge eliude
You forget Prefontaine took 3rd in the Olympics
Thats absurd. He was great for the sport in America but no where near the greatest
Yiannis Kouros is the greatest.
How can the guy who CHOKED at the Olympics be the greatest?? LOLLLLL
Eliud
wtf?
Ehhh not the greatest. This answer was the most vanilla high school track runner answer I’ve heard. The greats are bekele, el guerrouj, farah, and countless other runners. Prefontaine?
@@larrymant1484 even then, Rupp is by far the greatest.
@@larrymant1484 rupp has a silver and a bronze. Not to mention the countless USA 10k titles he has. He is the greatest US distance runner of all time.
@@larrymant1484 listing off old runners doesn’t show that you’re somehow an experienced runner or that I’m somehow a young runner. The fact that pre couldn’t even medal with a dominant runner who is very similar to the likes of Mo farah, Lasse Viren, goes to show pre wasn’t as good as people say he was. I’m comparing them by the competition that was around at the time. Hell, Rupp got a bronze in the marathon in his Second marathon.
@@larrymant1484 if you want to make your standard for greatest influence and popularization, far enough. But my standard for greatness are times and competitiveness
@@larrymant1484i only see Ryan as a burn out. He literally peaked at the Mexico games and then didn’t do anything until retirement. Pre didn’t run a very smart race at Munich. You honestly sound like the typical high school xc runner that has this fan boy obsession with pre. Rupp is better hands down. The amount of titles and accolades he has far out weighs pre.
A Kenyan toddler can beat him
Stfu
David Goggins is the GOAT
What a fucking joke....
Most GOATED in mindset and underdog life comeback story, but not times wise, however 8 x100 milers in 8 back to back weekends is absolute madness and goated for sure.
What a ludicrous title. He is not even among the top 100 of all time.