1974: Europe Competition

An Oregon workout.  Left to Right ..
Steve Prefontaine, Knut Kvalheim,
Steve Bence,  Mark Feig, Lars Kaupang

In 2001 I was asked to share my 1974 amateur racing experience in Europe.  This past week I was asked again.

I have a lot of content from that summer of 1974.  Pictures.  Diary.  News articles.

I'll see if I can organize what I have and present it in an interesting way.  It was a great adventure.

First, some context.

Steve Prefontaine graduated from college after the 1973 Cross Country season.  Starting in January 1974 Pre was no longer on a college scholarship and on own his own financially.

The international amateur rules about receiving any compensation were strict at the time. Even stricter in the US as governed by the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union).

Over the years Pre discovered that his Olympic competition, mainly European 5000m runners, were competiting in meets that they selected and collecting appearance money; enough to live, train, and compete.

As an American runner, Pre was pressured by the AAU to compete in the USA national championships and then compete on the US team which competed in televised meets and delivered revenue to the AAU.  No compensation to the US athletes.  The largest meet was against the USSR who couldn't offer any meaningful competition for Pre.

In 1974 Pre decided to challenge the AAU.  He decided to skip the US championships, refuse to run on the US team, compete on his own, and collect his appearance money under the table.

Pre asked his former teammates such as me and Mark Feig (in the picture above) to join him.  I assume that he thought there would be safety in numbers.

We competed that summer in Europe, defied the AAU, had some great races, developed friendships, and like our non-American competitors, collected money.

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Excerpts from Track & Field News (1970's):

"More trouble is brewing between the AAU and the athletes it governs. Unless the officials display more wisdom than they sometimes have the blow-up is certain. And it will be big."

"What business is it of the AAU if a trackman doesn't want to compete in the AAU? Or if he places high in the AAU and doesn't want to be on the national team?"

"AAU owns no part of the athlete and is morally wrong in attempting to control his actions."

"The committee ruled that no athlete may compete abroad during the 10 days immediately prior to the AAU nationals or for the five days before all international dual meets. By so doing, the committee told this nation's trackmen that they are not free men. They are, according to this rule, as much in the bondage of the AAU as professional athlete is to his contract holder."

"I'm not going to run in the AAU championships." Thus Steve Prefontaine threw down the gauntlet to the AAU and its international competition moratorium.

"I'm going to compete all through their moratorium," continued Pre, "and if they want to take me to court, that's fine with me. I can take them for all they're worth."

"What does it prove running the AAU meet? The AAU doesn't care about the athletes; why should I care about them? I'll find meets to run in Europe."

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