31+ Steve Prefontaine Quotes From The Beloved Olympic Runner

Steve Prefontaine is a long-distance running champion who influenced many and ushered in the US's running boom.

On 25 January, 1951, Steve Prefontaine was born in Coos Bay to Raymond George Prefontaine and Elfriede Anna Marie Sennholz. Since childhood, he was interested in sports and continued to show this enthusiasm and dedication throughout his life.

He was interested in football and basketball. But, due to his short stature, he was not selected. He saw some athletes practicing long-distance running and got interested in it and started focussing on it.

He participated in many college and state-level events and won races breaking records, and earning fame. People would come to the race to see him practice. They motivated him by shouting 'Pre,' 'Go Pre,' or jokingly, 'Stop Pre!' He participated in the 1972 Munich Olympics and finished in fourth place.

Tragically, in 1975 he died in a car accident at the age of 24. In his short but illustrious life, Steve Prefontaine won 119 out of 151 races and set 15 American records. Even today, his hard work, discipline, and determination are an inspiration to future generations.

Take a look at the famous Steve Prefontaine quotes below. If you want to read more exciting quotes, visit Wilma Rudolph quotes and Usain Bolt quotes.

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Steve Prefontaine is an American legend in the long-distance running category. Here are some inspiring Steve Prefontaine quotes that will motivate us.

1."Nobody likes tainted victories."

-Steve Prefontaine.

2."What I want is to be number one."

-Steve Prefontaine.

3."My philosophy is that I'm an artist. I perform an art, not with a paintbrush or a camera. I perform with bodily movement. Instead of exhibiting my art in a museum or a book or on canvas, I exhibit my art in front of the multitudes."

-Steve Prefontaine.

4."A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more."

-Steve Prefontaine.

5." Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

-Steve Prefontaine.

6."Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it."

-Steve Prefontaine.

7."I'm the one who has made all the sacrifices. Those are my American records, not the country's."

-Steve Prefontaine.

8."If anybody wants to beat me, let them run a world record."

-Steve Prefontaine.

9."It doesn't feel that good when you're ahead the whole way."

-Steve Prefontaine.

10."The best pace is suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die!"

-Steve Prefontaine.

11."No matter how hard you train, Somebody will train harder. No matter how hard you run, somebody will run harder. No matter how hard you want it, somebody will want it more, I am somebody."

-Steve Prefontaine.

12."You said I was weak. You said I couldn't do it. Thank you. You gave me everything I needed to prove you wrong."

-Steve Prefontaine.

Steve Prefontaine faced many challenges in his life, but he was always confident and focused on his goal. It is his passion and willingness to run for long distances that made him a famous runner. Here we have gathered some Prefontaine quotes that will motivate and inspire you.

13."It's not who's the best - it's who can take the most pain."

-Steve Prefontaine.

14."Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started."

-Steve Prefontaine.

15."I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it."

-Steve Prefontaine.

16."To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."

-Steve Prefontaine.

17."I have a positive mental attitude, and I think I'm divine, but I also think it takes a heck of a lot of blood, sweat, and tears."

-Steve Prefontaine.

18."I knew I had to show everybody that I could excel at something. But I didn't know what."

-Steve Prefontaine.

19."It really gets grim until the competition begins. You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. "

-Steve Prefontaine.

20."Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,' and I just took off."

-Steve Prefontaine.

21." There are big odds against me. Nobody under 25 has ever won the Olympic five. But if everything goes right, whoever wins will know he has been in one helluva race."

-Steve Prefontaine.

22."I decided that if I was going to continue in track, that I didn't want to lose, that I wasn't going to lose."

-Steve Prefontaine.

23." Kids made fun of me because I was a slow learner, because I was hyperactive, because of a lot of things. Running gave me confidence."

-Steve Prefontaine.

24."Don't let fatigue make a coward of you."

-Steve Prefontaine.

25."Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

-Steve Prefontaine.

Steve Prefontaine held every record from two miles to 10,000 meters at the time of his untimely death. Below are some Steve Prefontaine quotes that motivate us all to endurance running.

26."Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.'"

-Steve Prefontaine.

27."A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they're capable of understanding."

-Steve Prefontaine.

28."No one will ever win a 5,000 meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me."

-Steve Prefontaine.

29."It's more than just a race, it's style. It's doing something better than everyone else. It's being creative."

-Steve Prefontaine.

30."There is a breaking point in each race when you wonder if all the sacrifice is really worth it. You think 'why should I do this? I don't have to run this hard.' But that's when I think about them. They keep me going."

-Steve Prefontaine.

31."If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself. But if it's a slow pace, and I get beaten by a kicker who leaches off the front, then I'll always wonder, 'What if...?'"

-Steve Prefontaine.

32."What I like most about track is the feeling I get inside after a good run."

-Steve Prefontaine.

33."Running gives me confidence."

-Steve Prefontaine.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Steve Prefontaine quotes, then why not take a look at track and field quotes and [cross country quotes]?