What kept you from winning any NCAA titles while at Penn State?
Greg Fredericks: "Steve Prefontaine. I got second to him all the time. Although in my senior year, 1972, we had a great 5000 race. He ran the second-fastest American time. I ran the fourth fastest."
Well, for the tough readership out there, here's a story including Steve Prefontaine and Greg Fredericks at the 1972 NCAA 5,000M Finals.
And here's Bruce Jenner talking about his Olympic roommate Steve Prefontaine: (From NBC OlympicTalk)
The info below was derived from articles and stats in the Eugene Register Guard, June 2 and 4, 1972, the Spokane Spokesman-Review, 4 June, 1972, and Track & Field News, II June 1972.
Pre ran a 5000m heat on June 1st, winning with a time of 14:01.4. He won the final on June 3 with a time of 13:31.4, in front of a hometown crowd of 14,500 raving Pre fans—the distance-happy Oregon fans ate it up.
Pre finished an astounding 26 seconds under Gerry Lindgren’s 1968 5000m meet record of 13:57.2—all the top six finishers clocked under the 1968 meet record. Pre’s finishing time of 13:31.4 was just 1.6 seconds under his own 5000m American record of 13:29.8, set April 29th of the same year.
Pre ran the first mile in 4:21.8, the second in 4:25.6 (8:47.4), and the third in 4:16.9. The last mile before finishing the 5000m distance was run in 4:14.4. The final three-quarter mile timed 3:08.9, and half mile at 2:03.8. The final lap was run in 61.4.
The fans stood and cheered as Pre broke away from Greg Fredericks to take the race to the finish, then cheered him again as he took five and a half victory laps—a victory mile! [you don’t see that anymore!]
“I haven’t felt mentally or physically right all week,” Pre said later. “With a few laps to go I waved Greg [Fredericks] by but he wouldn’t go, so I just picked up the pace. I didn’t want to sprint because I wanted to save myself for the Olympic trials [a month away]. So I ran a 63, then a 62, and on the last lap 60. I was just happy to win it.
Happy enough, in fact, for the five and a half victory laps, several of them with Fredericks.
Fredericks remarked: “I really felt like I had a good chance to win . . . you’d have to ask Steve why he waved for me to pass him. It’s a lot easier running behind someone than set the pace and I guess he wanted me to take over for a while. I was hoping I could catch him sleeping.”
Fredericks was second to Pre for the second time in a row in the NCAA 5000m/3-mile championship. Still, his time of 13:34 made him the 4th fastest American ever, behind Pre, George Young, and Gerry Lindgren.
The 5000m was only run in an Olympic year up to 1976--other years the three mile was run (all events were metric except for the mile). Because the NCAA wouldn't measure or record the 3-mile times during a 5000m event, Track and Field News did so unofficially. Pre and Fredericks timed at 13:04.4 and 13:06.8 respectively. These unofficial 3-mile times represent an improvement of the 1971 3-mile Pre-Fredericks times by 16 and 22 seconds respectively.
This NCAA Championship meet was his third consecutive annual victory in the same event NCAA Championship event, the 3 mile. He won the 3 mile in both 1970 (13:22.0), and 1971 (13:20.2). At the 1973 NCAA Championship meet Pre set a record with his fourth victory title, the 3 mile race again, with a time of 13:05.3. Pre's best time in the four meet series, 13:04.3, was 17.7 seconds faster than his slowest time of 13:22.0.
5000m final finishing times:
1. Pre 13:31.4 (meet record over Gerry Lindgren's 1968 5000m meet record of 13:57.2)
2. Greg Fredericks (Penn St) 13:33.9
3. John Hartnett (Villanova) 13:44.4
4. Glenn Herold (Wisconsin) 13:45.8
5. Michael Keogh (Manhattan Col) 13:48.3
6. Rick Hitchcock (Kansas St) 13:49.5
7. Dave Tocheri (Northern Arizona) 14:03.0
8. Phil Burkwist (Washington St) 14:04.4
9. Paul Geis (Rice) 14:07.8
10. Joel Majors (Georgia Tech) 14:13.6
11. Paul Baldwin (Kentucky) 14:22.4
12. Del Ramers (Florida St) 14:39.2
He was one of my roommates at the Games in 1972. We also spent a month in Oslo, Norway, training before going to Munich, getting acclimated with the time change. So I got to know him pretty well. I was 22 years old. I had never needed a passport before. I never expected to make it on the Olympic Team in the first place. I came out of nowhere at the trials, wasn’t even ranked in the top 10 and made it on the team in the last event [the 1500m, earning third place overall].
So I didn’t know any of these guys. I had heard of them and saw Prefontaine run, but I didn’t know the guy beforehand.
So we go to Norway, and let me tell you, those guys knew how to have a good time. I was going to bed early, and these guys were out partying. One night Pre had a little bit too much, and we like poured him into bed that night. The next morning, he got up and did the hardest workout I think I’ve ever seen in my life. I was shocked.
Him and Frank Shorter, and all these people, were having such a great time. My thinking was oh my God, they’re so happy they made it on the Olympic Team and they’re not worried enough about what’s going to happen once they get to Munich.
But then Shorter wins the marathon, and Pre had a great 5000m race even though he wound up fourth.
When I woke up on the morning of the terrorist attack, Pre was the guy who had just gone out for a morning run and told me something’s going on out there. He heard somebody got shot. He said you won’t believe what’s happened outside. He was the one that broke the news to me.
That is an awesome article. Too bad Greg Fredricks was on the 1980 team that was forced to boycott.
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