Steve Prefontaine loses impressively in 1500m on 8/2/1972

OSLO, Norway, Aug. 2, 1972

Pekka Vasala of Finland overtook the 21‐year‐old Prefontaine with 330 yards left in the metric mile and registered an eight‐yard victory in 3 minutes 38.3 seconds, the equivalent of a 3:56 mile.

But Pre, who had paced the 1,500 for the first three laps as a favor to a friend, still managed to sustain his kick on the last quarter-mile and finished second with the fastest 1,500 of his career at the time, 3:39.4.

“Vasala didn't pull away as well as I thought he would, and I feel good about being able to sprint with him,” said Pre. “It's my first competition since the [United States] trials, and I was just running the carbon out of my system. These guys will be paying for that loss tomorrow in the 3,000.”

Pre would go on to lower his 1500m to 3:38.1 in 1973. At the time of his death, however, Pre had a personal best in the mile of 3:54.6. Not bad for a guy who wasn't supposed to be a miler.

Check out the 3000m race here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg5IlJdfXRc&t=151s

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