Prefontaine: “Pre didn’t take his running to the ‘next level’. Pre could be beaten and, on the rare occasions, he was. It was his competitiveness and his toughness that was at the ‘next level’, or even one or two levels beyond. It was Pre’s spirit, and his will to dominate which placed him above everyone else.“ – Jeff Johnson
WHEN: 1973
WHO (L-to-R): Paul Geis (1976 Olympian 5000 meters), Steve Prefontaine (1972 Olympian, 4th in 5000 meters), Don Kardong -Club Northwest (1976 Olympian 4th in marathon)
WHERE: Portland, OR
WHAT: Oregon Indoor
*Pre’s birthday was yesterday. He would have been 72.
Editor’s Note: Due to the graciousness of Jeff Johnson, John Goegel and others, we are continuing our series begun last spring and through the cross country season on our sister site newhampshirecrosscountry.com For those of you that don’t know, Jeff Johnson was employee #1 for Nike. He actually is the one responsible for naming what is now a world corporation. Fortunately for us, he was also a world class photographer of our great sports in the 1960s and 1970s during which he captured thousands of sports photographs. We are honored and thankful for their choice to use our sites as their medium for sharing their passion. We hope our presentations can do them justice! Many of his quotes are also being housed on the NHTFCA website.
Photos by Jeff Johnson
Quotes by Jeff Johnson from his work in progress: “In Other Words: Things I Think I Said When I Was Trying To Think Of Something To Say.”
If you are interested in a poster version of a photo from this series, they are available for a small charge.
