Full 1972 Olympics 5k prefontaine race!!!

Centro medaled at the World Championships when he was 21–not the Olympics, but that’s just a matter of timing really.

On a different tangent, I’ve always thought Pre’s one chance at a medal had he lived would have been in the 10k in Montreal, where if he’d been in good fitness he’d have had a great shot at bronze. That race started slowly through 2 miles before Carlos Lopes took over and gradually dropped everyone except Viren, who easily outkicked him in the last lap.

1. Viren 27:40.38

2. Lopes 27:45.17

3. Brendan Foster 27:54.92

…Off a 14:08 opening 5k. It seems like a 25 year old Pre might have outlasted Foster and managed splits of say, 14:08/13:43 for the bronze.

1980 Viren was clearly past his peak. Plus, he was undertrained due to an earlier injury that year.

He did wonderful just to run 5th in 1980. David Coleman, the BBC broadcaster, aptly described Viren's run that day as a "champion's race".

Viren has stated that the best shape he was ever in was in August, 1972, several weeks before the Munich Games.

I will never understand why Bedford felt it necessary to run the first lap so fast in that Munich 10K final. He wasn't going to break the field that early.

It cost him later in the race, imo.

Pre held every American R ecord from 2,000m - 10,000m.

What kind of race would it have been if Rono had been able to run?

Yifter had a 13:33 5000 best at that time and one senses he had not reached top fitness until sometime after 1972.

I noticed that, too...and, evidently, so did Lasse Viren's wikipedia page....

"One factor in Virén's Olympic victories, especially at the 1972 Olympics 5,000 and 10,000 metres, has received little attention: his careful running of almost all the bends (curves) near the inner edge of the first lane, which spared him tens of metres compared to his chief rivals. More specifically, Steve Prefontaine gave Virén an advantage of more than forty metres over 5,000 m in 1972"

Don't say that too loud or Grant might hear.

Steward got smoked in the British Trials finishing a distant third.

I did forget Centro but I'll contend that world champs are slightly less competitive than the Olympics. Also worth noting that the examples given have been 1500 runners and Pre was in the 5k. I think everyone would agree that a young guy having success at 1500 is more common than 5k and the young 5k runner has a lot more room to improve. I think with Pre's mile speed, good strength background, and his stubbornness to just not be beat again he'd be a tough nut to crack over either distance in 1976. Viren was great but, as others have noted, he was really at his best when he beat Pre.

Pre’s mile speed was not extraordinary by any means. He did run 3:54.6 which was quite respectable at that time but Pre was vulnerable in a close finish. He did not have great acceleration. I see him maybe as a Bronze medalist in 1976 at 10000m. I am not sure that the World Championships are “slightly less competitive” than the Olympics. I was not aware of that.

Nearly all of these guys raced stupidly.

The British #2 commentator commentated stupidly. "150 yards behind the world record pace" at 3000m?

As Arthur Lydiard once said about that race--Lasse Viren ran 5000 meters, Prefontaine ran 5050 meters.

I was a teenager when he ran and died. I don't think he's overestimated and I DO think we should be talking about the history of the sport more- Pre DID exemplify guts with his front running style.

I loved the Pre hype from the early 2000's (probably because it took me back to my youth).