Stéphane Préfontaine

Not to be confused with Steve Prefontaine.

Stéphane Préfontaine (born 1961) is a Canadian track athlete best known for co-lighting the Olympic Flame with Sandra Henderson at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Biography

Préfontaine attempted to compete in the athletics competition for Canada at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, but abandoned his dream after suffering tendon injuries.

He later earned his law degree from the University of Montreal, then a Masters of Law from Columbia University in New York New York in the United States. After his law degrees, Préfontaine studied philosophy and political science in France at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Institute of Political Studies of Paris in French), earning a first year doctorate. While practicing law, he also earned a Masters of Business Administration in finance at McGill University in Montreal.

Préfontaine started his law practice in 1989 before going into venture capital in 2004. That same year he was part of the 2004 Summer Olympics torch relay when it returned to Montreal.

There was an urban legend that Préfontaine went on to marry Sandra Henderson, whom he met lighting the Olympic Flame at the 1976 Olympiad. However those rumors turned out to be false.

References

• IOC 1976 Summer Olympics.
• "Past Torchbearers". - vancouver2010.com article accessed 3 January 2010.
• Profile of Préfontaine on Préfontaine Capital website. - accessed 3 January 2010.