Odyssey to Oregon

2022 ODYSSEY TO OREGON

turn out for World Relays if it were here. Yes, we’ll turn out for a World Junior Championships."

everybody loves a fast track as well and everybody loves fast times." The new track was laid as

been set there and if the 2021 Prefontaine Classic is any indication, one more could follow. Elaine Thompson‐Herah, Fraser‐Pryce and Shericka Jackson reprised their Olympic 1‐2‐3 in the 100 metres with Thompson‐Herah crossing the finish line in 10.54 seconds, the second fastest time ever.

part of a US$270‐million upgrade that has made Hayward Field into a monument as well as a track and field cathedral.

BUILT BY 3 BILLS For the record, Eugene is home to one of the most successful collegiate track and field programmes in the United States. With legendary coaches like Bill Hayward, Bill Bowerman and Bill Dellinger guiding college and international champions like Brazil’s 1984 Olympic 800‐metre gold medal winner Joaquim Cruz, history’s most successful decathlete Ashton Eaton and 2016 Olympic 1500‐metre victor Matt Centrowitz, Oregon is a big brand in athletics. Incidentally, the current Oregon team includes Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson, the 2021 NCAA Indoor 60‐metre champion and this year’s NCAA 100‐metre runner‐up. The city also shares some history with sportswear giant, Nike. In 1958, Phil Knight, a student‐athlete at the University of Oregon, shared with his coach, Bill Bowerman, his discomfort with American running shoes. The company they formed in 1964 produced a lighter and more comfortable shoe designed by Bowerman. In 1968, this company became Nike, Inc. Knight further cemented his links to Oregon by heading the financing for the recent modernization of Hayward Field. Twenty world records have

In his view, those 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston didn’t quite have the energy of the meet known worldwide as Champs. "It was heavily marketed for World Junior Championships but even for World Junior Championships, as busy as it was, it would never compare to the energy of a Saturday night of Champs, Boys Champs I should say, let alone the Super Champs we’ve been having," said the man who as a Wolmer’s student‐athlete starred at Boys’ Championships in 1993. Then Gardner, who traversed the USA competing for Michigan and raced all over the world as a professional, drew a sharp comparison. "So what fans can expect is that Eugene is probably the closest they will ever come to the kind of fan support that they’re used to seeing at a Saturday night of Champs," he proclaimed. Today’s athletes agree with him and according to four‐time 100‐ metre World Champion Shelly‐ Ann Fraser‐Pryce, there’s at least one more reason. Speaking at the press conference for the annual Prefontaine Classic in June, Fraser‐Pryce understated, "Of course, it’s a fast track and

So the allure of Eugene is twofold: the fans, like those at Penn and Champs, are brilliant and the venue is conducive to top performances. It’s a combination that is certain to make the 2022 World Championships memorable. Bill Hayward (left) coached Oregon and the US Olympic track team for decades. Bill Bowerman co-founded Nike and led the athletics programme at Oregon for nearly 25 years.

Before Bill Dellinger (right) coached the Ducks, he was a star at Oregon and a 1964 Olympic medallist.