Why is Pre so famous? He never won gold.

Gotcha $ wrote:

Pre is one of the key people who worked to get athletes money for running. Without Pre, Rupp, and others, would be working real jobs after their running careers ended in their early to mid 20s.

He was in the news and was very popular in his day.

Watch the video of the 72 5000 where the announcer says he's an "athletic Beatle".

When Nike started that campaign I loved it.

I wish some young guy now would step up and make a real name for himself

Jager, etc could do it.

Oooh yeah, look at Marty Liquori take down Pre in the mile here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjvHHwLHqc8

Someone is definitely confused.

Great video- thanks.

Now- off topic- back then there were more meets and very few of the tracks were 200 meters- most were 10 laps to the mile.

Small enough to put in an arena and attract a big crowd.

They were spring and middle distance love-fests.

I remember meets having the 40 05 50 then 300/400/500/600- sometimes all of them.

The mile seemed to be the longest but there were 2 miles and 3000's.

Rarely longer.

Great meets and it was all about the race.

runn wrote:

Oooh yeah, look at Marty Liquori take down Pre in the mile here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjvHHwLHqc8

Someone is definitely confused.

.

and the confused one is you! You somehow managed to find the one race Pre beat Marty. I know ths video will burn your eyes like posion. Watch it if you dare.

If you compare Pre's career to Liquori's, it's not even close. Not only was Liquori ranked first in the world in the 1500m... TWICE!...he was also ranked higher than Pre in Pre's event, the 5000m. Ouch!

Additionally, Liquori won one of the biggest sports spectacles of the ages -- the Dream Mile in which he beat Jim Ryun at Franklin Field.

Liquori was a rock star. Pre was Justin Bieber.

World Rankings 5000 meters

1978 2nd Liquori

1977 1st Liquori

1975 3rd Liquori, 9th Prefontaine

1974 6th Prefontaine

1973 5th Prefontaine

1972 4th Prefontaine

1971 10th Prefontaine

World Rankings 1500 meters

1975 5th Liquori

1971 1st Liquori

1970 7th Liquori

1969 1st Liquori

Liquori also had the benefit of not dying as the age of 24.

To compare 5000m world rankings in 1975, the year Pre died, doesn't say much. He died in May. Would Marty have been ranked ahead of Pre based on performances from January - the end of may?

Pre's last full season was at the age of 23 (1974). Compare Pre's career to Marty's career through the end of 1972 (when marty was 23).

Marty probably still comes out on top with two #1 rankings over 1500m, but it is closer. Pre had the better NCAA career, and he finished 4th against all the big boys as a 21 year old. Both were great runners.

To quote/paraphrase Chuck Klosterman, the best way to get "great" is to get "good" and then get "dead".

And to have this quote more closely fit Pre, one would have to say..."Pre was great because he got good, then he got great, before he died".

reader of the forums wrote:

Pre had the better NCAA career, and he finished 4th against all the big boys as a 21 year old. Both were great runners.

You can't be serious are you? Marty's NCAA career at Villanova

1968 Freshman Olympic finalist

Liquori made the U.S. Olympic team freshman. He was the youngest person ever to compete in the Olympic 1500 final.

1969 Sophomore 1500m world ranking #1

Won the NCAA beating World record holder Jim Ryun

AAU champion

1970 Junior 1500 world ranking #7

NCAA champion, beating Dave Wottle

AAU champion

1971 Senior 1500m world ranking #1

NCAA and AAU Champ

Pan Am Games Gold

malmo wrote:

1970 Junior 1500 world ranking #7

NCAA champion, beating Dave Wottle

Correction, Liquori didn't win AAU's his Junior year. He was 3rd.

malmo wrote:

reader of the forums wrote:

Pre had the better NCAA career, and he finished 4th against all the big boys as a 21 year old. Both were great runners.

You can't be serious are you? Marty's NCAA career at Villanova

1968 Freshman Olympic finalist

Liquori made the U.S. Olympic team freshman. He was the youngest person ever to compete in the Olympic 1500 final.

1969 Sophomore 1500m world ranking #1

Won the NCAA beating World record holder Jim Ryun

AAU champion

1970 Junior 1500 world ranking #7

NCAA champion, beating Dave Wottle

AAU champion

1971 Senior 1500m world ranking #1

NCAA and AAU Champ

Pan Am Games Gold

I was referring to NCAA competition, which is why I wrote "and [Pre] finished 4th" rather than just "Pre had the better NCAA career."

This is not the "who was better, Liquori or Pre?" thread.

It is about "why was Pre so famous", without winning gold.

(Btw Liquori never won gold either, so why is he in this conversation?)

As I said, Pre's spirit of racing was what excited us. And your video amplifies the point. Here is Pre, in a mile which is not his specialty, going all out and running 3:58 on a toy track, being defeated by a mile specialist who sat back until the end. As usual, Pre was the most inspiring runner in that race. That is why he's famous. No one said he was the best.

Pre was not Justin Bieber, he was Alf Tupper.

Mark

reader of the forums wrote:

malmo wrote:

You can't be serious are you? Marty's NCAA career at Villanova

1968 Freshman Olympic finalist

Liquori made the U.S. Olympic team freshman. He was the youngest person ever to compete in the Olympic 1500 final.

1969 Sophomore 1500m world ranking #1

Won the NCAA beating World record holder Jim Ryun

AAU champion

1970 Junior 1500 world ranking #7

NCAA champion, beating Dave Wottle

AAU champion

1971 Senior 1500m world ranking #1

NCAA and AAU Champ

Pan Am Games Gold

I was referring to NCAA competition, which is why I wrote "and [Pre] finished 4th" rather than just "Pre had the better NCAA career."

Oh, I see, because Liquori was the best in the world, and beating the WR record holder in NCAA competition, during college, he wasn't the best in NCAA competition -- Pre was?

WHUTCHUTALKINBOUTWILLIS?

malmo wrote:

reader of the forums wrote:

I was referring to NCAA competition, which is why I wrote "and [Pre] finished 4th" rather than just "Pre had the better NCAA career."

Oh, I see, because Liquori was the best in the world, and beating the WR record holder in NCAA competition, during college, he wasn't the best in NCAA competition -- Pre was?

WHUTCHUTALKINBOUTWILLIS?

Again, I was referring to NCAA competition. That Liquori ran well enough after June is beyond the scope of NCAA competition. Pre won every NCAA final he contested save for his first one; 7 in total. Liquori also won several NCAA titles. Pre had a better record here. Liquori was also good.

Ryun was a shadow of his former self in 1969, but props to Liquori for finishing 2nd & 1st over the mile indoors & outdoors that year.

newboston wrote:

As I said, Pre's spirit of racing was what excited us. And your video amplifies the point. Here is Pre, in a mile which is not his specialty, going all out and running 3:58 on a toy track, being defeated by a mile specialist who sat back until the end. As usual, Pre was the most inspiring runner in that race.

I don't think so. I was at that meet, and Liquori was the most inspiring runner in that race.

If leading a race and losing is your idea of "most inspiring", I've made a career on most inspiring races -- almost all of them. ;-)

Abraham Lincoln never won gold either and he's pretty famous.

coach comments nicely wrote:

jersey shore wrote:

Perhaps you've confused Pre with Marty Liquori,

Oooh yeah, look at Marty Liquori take down Pre in the mile here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjvHHwLHqc8

Someone is definitely confused.

Liquori was racing himself back into shape following the injury that kept him out of Munich; he went on to win the AAU indoor that year.

Here's a video of Liquori owning Pre in 1975, courtesy of malmo's coach.

Be sure to check out the list of world rankings following the race.

Sorry if it offends you, but I liked Pre in that race.

Actually, your racing was also inspiring. Look, almost no one wins.

But we all tried to win. This is the struggle we share, and from which we find inspiration in others.

And if winning only is your criterion for inspiration then you discount Ron Clarke so you have truly gone off the rails.

reader of the forums wrote:

malmo wrote:

Oh, I see, because Liquori was the best in the world, and beating the WR record holder in NCAA competition, during college, he wasn't the best in NCAA competition -- Pre was?

WHUTCHUTALKINBOUTWILLIS?

Again, I was referring to NCAA competition. That Liquori ran well enough after June is beyond the scope of NCAA competition. Pre won every NCAA final he contested save for his first one; 7 in total. Liquori also won several NCAA titles. Pre had a better record here. Liquori was also good.

Ryun was a shadow of his former self in 1969, but props to Liquori for finishing 2nd & 1st over the mile indoors & outdoors that year.

Do you have a reading disability or something. Liquori beat the world record holder Jim Ryun in NCAA competition. He won three consecutive NCAA miles, which is far more meaningful than Pre's NCAA wins. Liquori wasn't merely "also good", he had the better record in NCAA competition.

newboston wrote:

Sorry if it offends you, but I liked Pre in that race.

Actually, your racing was also inspiring. Look, almost no one wins.

But we all tried to win. This is the struggle we share, and from which we find inspiration in others.

And if winning only is your criterion for inspiration then you discount Ron Clarke so you have truly gone off the rails.

it doesn't offend me that you have a different opinion, but you've gone off into red herring land by the supposition that winning is the only thing. Ron Clarke is one of my favorite runners of all-time. God only knows what he could have done on modern tracks?

The original front runner, great runner, great personality.

He could have been much better, and no doubt he would've come away with something in the 1976 Olympics.