Steve Prefontaine Without Limits Analysis

Without Limits is rated 7.2/10 stars www.imdb.com. The film follows the life of famous runner, Steve Prefontaine, from college at the University of Oregon where he worked with the legendary coach Bill Bowerman, to the Olympics in Munich and then his death at 24 in an awful car crash. My question is what was Prefontaine's story, what was it that made him want to push himself to the breaking point? Born in Coos Bay, Oregon on January 25, 1951, Prefontaine was bullied most his life for being of German heritage and not coming from a family with a a lot of money, almost everyday after school he had to run home so he wouldn’t get beaten up by the bigger kids. He showed very little interest in running, infact he preferred team sports like football, baseball and basketball. Coaches, however, told him he wasn’t the right size to be good enough at these sports. Another obstacle Prefontaine faced was that he was born with one leg a tad shorter than the other. It wasn't until eighth grade that Prefontaine realized he could outrun most the kids in his physical education class. His Freshman year at Marshfield High School he joined Cross Country and placed fifty-fourth in State, which wasn’t bad for it being his first

Once he found something he was good at, he became obsessed with winning, becoming something, and showing everyone that he wasn’t just some poor German kid. He wanted to prove to the bullies that he is better than them and he wanted to make them regret bullying him as a kid, he wanted to prove it to his mom that he could go to college and he would be okay, he wanted to show everyone that even though he is small he could still win, and to himself to never give up. When he set his mind, he never gave up and for that, I admire