All Americans Who Are Worthy Of Inheriting Pre’s Legacy
Posted March 28th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, SoundOFF, Columns, Olympics
Let’s face it—even more than three decades after his untimely death—the great Steve Prefontaine is still the Gold Standard by which American distance running is measured and yet may be for decades to come. So how does the current crop of Americans measure up when we compare their PRs to his? They have done pretty well, actually. Out of all the PR’s listed for Pre in his Wikipedia Article (at least the ones in which runners still compete these days) a full complement of twenty eight American distance runners have been able best Pre in at least one of them.
Of course, such was his talent at so many distances that only one runner out of the current crop has been able to beat all of Pre’s PRs. Care to take a guess as to who? You got it: Alan Webb.
And don’t think he’s not acutely aware of this fact, either. I would bet that every one of these guys knows which of their PRs is better than Pre’s. Like I said, he’s the standard, not only by which all elite American runners measure themselves but by which they are measured by others.
Interestingly enough, he has fared the worst in the event for which he was best known—the 5000m. In that event, 21 Americans have a PR that is faster than Pre’s PR of 13:21.87. The fastest of these is Bernard Lagat, who has a PR of 12:59.22, a full 22.65 seconds faster than Pre’s mark. Some of you might quibble that Lagat isn’t a native-born American. I say so what? I’m tired of hearing some running pundits talk about how one has to be a “real” American to run for the USA. What a bunch of baloney! Lagat and all naturalized citizens of the United States have sworn an oath to defend its Constitution. Have you? I doubt it, not if you’re one of those complaining about the “imports.”
Anyway, that’s a debate for another thread on another site. For now, let’s get back to focusing on this amazing group of runners who have inherited Pre’s legacy of American-distance-running greatness and who will take it into Beijing and beyond. Here is the list of every American runner who is currently competing and who has a PR that is better than Steve Prefontaine’s in at least one event from 1500m through 10000m. It’s going to be a great season:
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Tags: 1500m, Alan Webb, american citizens, American distance running, americans who are faster than pre, Beijing, Bernard Lagat, mile run, naturalized americans, pre, pre records, Steve Prefontaine, two mile
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The Final Sprint
I think this is one of the most interesting posts I’ve read in a long time. Not only did I learn Pre was a ridiculously fast miler, I gained a lot of appreciation for the level he was running at so many years ago.
As to why his signature event, the 5k, is the race in which he’s fared the worst, I think it’s likely because only two of those races are really run frequently by the top runners: 1500m and 5000m. If Tegenkamp ran a 10k, I’ve no doubt he could run a 27:40. Similarly, if Goucher or Lagat ran the 2 miles, they could both have run faster than 8:18 (I mean, who runs the 2 miles anymore?).
In looking at the list, I think Goucher, Lagat and Tegenkamp could all do it. But of the three, I think only Tegenkamp will.
P.S. You left off my buddy Rankin’s time in the 1500m (3:35.26 I believe).
April 1st, 2008 at 3:12 amThanks for pointing that out, Bryan! My apologies to you, Jon, for that oversight. I have corrected the chart.
April 1st, 2008 at 1:20 pmJimmie,
I followed where you left off and looked at Alan Webb’s performances compared to all previous performances by US distance runners in history. I also added the 800m to the chart.
It’s absolutely amazing what you find. Can you guess how many American runners have run faster than Alan Webb in any event? Check it out:
http://optimaltraining.typepad.com/blog/2008/04/putting-alan-we.html
April 19th, 2008 at 1:00 pm