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EUGENE, Ore. — Early Friday morning, as he stepped to the throwing circle at the center of Hayward Field for his final warmup throws, Rudy Winkler heard a noise that struck him. Over the years at the stadium, Winkler had won an NCAA championship in the hammer throw, earned a national title and become an Olympian. But he had never experienced that faint chant that serenaded him as the track and field world championships began: “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
The fans at Hayward Field, the frequent home of America’s most significant domestic track and field events, typically cheer for great performances and by college or club affiliation. For the first time, an American track and field crowd will root for American athletes in the sport’s largest non-Olympic stage.
“It’s really special,” Winkler said. “It’s here.”
The track and field world championships arrived on U.S. soil for the first time, bringing the planet’s fastest runners, strongest throwers and highest fliers together in a quaint college town in the Pacific Northwest that has become the spiritual home of the sport in America. At the evening session’s opening ceremonies, second gentleman Doug Emhoff welcomed the athletes and crowd on behalf of President Biden before a booming two-jet flyover. Billboards around town blare the phrase: “Hello, World. Meet Oregon.” Vernon Norwood, a member of the U.S. 4×400 mixed-relay team, said it felt a little weird dashing around the Hayward track wearing a Team USA jersey — usually, he comes here looking to earn one.
With an eye on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, World Athletics, the sport’s governing body, sought America as a host to boost the sport’s appeal in a country where the athletes’ excellence far outstrips their popularity among sports fans. Time will reveal the success of that “mission,” as World Athletics President Sebastian Coe called it. For the next 10 days, U.S. athletes will revel in a new opportunity.
“I guess it’s been a long time coming,” legendary American sprinter Allyson Felix said. “I know that we’re really proud to host the world. We’re really excited you all get to see what we’ve seen and come to Hayward and experience the Hayward magic. I know in my career, I’ve always been a little envious of that athlete in the home country, that applause. I’m just really excited for all the U.S. athletes to be able to get that experience.”
Felix herself seized the opening night spotlight as she bid farewell to the sport she has excelled at and elevated over nearly two decades, running her final race in the 4×400 mixed relay. Felix ran a scintillating second leg, but the United States lost its lead about 10 meters before the line, taking third place behind the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands.
The Hayward Field crowd roared for Felix, an appreciation not of one race but of a career that saw her win 11 Olympic medals — including a final bronze in the 400 less than three years after a complicated birth that endangered her life — and 13 world championships.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Felix said Thursday. “I’ve really enjoyed my time over the years. It’s been a lot of ups and downs. I love this sport so much. It’s broken my heart many times. But I’ve also had many joyous moments. For me, it’s completely full circle. For me, to be able to come here, to end at home is just going to be very special. I’m going to miss it so much, but I can’t think of a better way to go out than with a heart full of gratitude.”
The presence of the world championships here amplifies the gulf between America’s accomplishments in the sport and the attention it receives domestically. Americans have topped the track and field medal table at every Olympics since 1984. At the world championships, the United States has won more than twice the number of medals as any other nation. It has more golds (170) than Kenya, second place on the all-time medal table, has total medals (151).
That it took the United States so long to host an event that has been contested since 1983 puzzled the rest of the world. Thomas Mardal, a Norwegian hammer thrower who attended the University of Florida, paused when asked about competing in the first world championships in the United States. “I honestly didn’t know that,” Mardal said. “I am surprised with how big sports is here. I guess track isn’t up there with American football and baseball and basketball and all that stuff.”
Track and field lags behind in America. Last summer at the Olympics, Norwegian Karsten Warholm and American Rai Benjamin turned the 400 meters hurdles into one of the greatest showdowns in track and field history. Benjamin obliterated Warholm’s world record, but Warholm eclipsed it even further and beat Benjamin at the line. Warholm is one of Norway’s most famous people. Few U.S. athletes are better at their sport than he is at his, but Benjamin could walk down any street in America with little notice. Last summer, Benjamin guessed his status as Warholm’s rival made him more well-known in Norway than he is in America.
“I hope that hosting events in the U.S. will bring in new fans, that people will understand the sport and be drawn to it,” Felix said. “I hope that having the Olympics in Los Angeles coming up will bring a new wave of fans. So just really, we got to get out there and really keep kids engaged and enjoying the sport. I hope that having events in the U.S. is one way.”
USA Track & Field CEO Max Siegel said he hopes the Oregon world championships will be a “catalyst” to enhancing awareness in the United States while launching a “glidepath” to the 2028 Olympics, thereby introducing a buzzword to the vernacular that sounds like a shot put technique. World Athletics and USATF have formed a collection of initiatives it calls “Project America” aimed at promoting the sport.
Track faces an obvious uphill fight against America’s obsession with basketball and football and even its more niche passion for sports such as golf and tennis. Coe, though, finds hope in participation. Including cross-country, more youth athletes compete in track and field than any other sport. By World Athletics’ accounting, 50 million Americans identity as recreational runners.
“The challenge is to form that really clear connect with what they are doing — particularly those recreational runners — and believing they are part of that track and field landscape,” Coe said.
The sport’s power brokers are hoping the next 10 days give them a nudge. They may face the vexing question of whether Eugene was the appropriate place within the United States.
In some ways, Eugene is a no-brainer. No other city would provide a more passionate, enlightened fan base. Hayward Field — fresh off a Nike-backed, $270 million renovation in 2020 — is by far the biggest and most opulent track-only stadium in the country. Track and field paraphernalia fills the walls of bars and restaurants. Eugene lives up to the Track Town nickname.
The location, though, caters to track fans the sport already owns, locals and die-hards on a pilgrimage. Eugene is “kind of secluded, off in the corner,” reigning 100-meter world champion Christian Coleman said.
“I feel like track and field, it is huge in America,” Coleman said. “You have a lot of kids that run track here and would love the opportunity to see us run in different places.”
Coe euphemistically called these a “more intimate” world championships. For all its dazzling components, Hayward Field has a capacity of 30,000, the smallest in the event’s history. Eugene, by population the 154th largest city in America, is also the smallest host city, creating logistical questions. (Renting a car from Eugene’s Mahlon Sweet Field could be added to the schedule of events.)
“This is a jumping-off point,” Winkler said. “Beyond this, it has a long way to go. Eugene is unfortunately not the easiest to travel to, so it’s not the most conducive for other people around [the country]. It is a really special place. Having this is incredible. I wish it was a little bit more accessible for everybody to come. That’s the only sticking point.”
A surprisingly low turnout for last month’s U.S. championships created concern that crowds may not fill Hayward. Those worries were assuaged during Friday’s morning session, when fans roared for preliminary heats in less-than-marquee events. What effect the world championships have on track and field in America remains to be seen. It promises, for the next 10 days, to provide a whole lot of thrills.
“It feels like Track Town amplified — more people, more spectators, more everything,” Winkler said. “But I’m glad it still kind of has the same feeling for me at least. Just really cool.”
