by Larry EderThis was one of the first three announcements that the dream had become a reality: that the World Outdoor Champs were coming to the US!
IAAF Council awards 2021 World Championships to TrackTown USA
BEIJING – The IAAF’s crown jewel of track and field, the World Championships, will be held in the United States for the first time in 2021.
In a special vote at its meetings in Beijing, the 27-member IAAF Council awarded the 2021 World Championships to the United States and the state of Oregon. USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport in this country, the City of Eugene and local organizing committee TrackTown USA will host the meet at the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field.
It marks the first time in the 33-year history of the IAAF World Championships that it will be contested on U.S. soil. The 2019 IAAF World Championships were awarded to Doha, Qatar, last November in a close vote that saw the U.S. bid garner significant attention and support.
IAAF President Lamine Diack announced the decision Thursday in Beijing.
“We are humbled by the bold leadership shown by the IAAF Council,” TrackTown USA President Vin Lananna said. “We are thrilled to be able to welcome the world in 2021. We want to thank the IAAF for their decision, and we also want to thank the people of Oregon for their unwavering support. In hosting this meet at historic Hayward Field, on the beautiful University of Oregon campus, we believe we can ignite a spark that will leave a lasting legacy for track and field for generations to come.”
The 2021 World Championships will be the third IAAF championship event to be held in Oregon in the span of seven years. The highly acclaimed IAAF World Junior Championships Oregon14 made its U.S. debut in TrackTown USA last summer and the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 will be held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on March 18-20, 2016.
“We are deeply honored to be given the opportunity to host the world’s greatest track and field athletes on U.S. soil,” USATF CEO Max Siegel said. “We thank President Diack and the IAAF Council for entrusting this meet to the United States. Team USA has established itself as the most successful track and field team in the world. We now have the opportunity and duty to rise to the same level as hosts of these championships.”
The IAAF World Championships – a biennial nine-day competition featuring the world’s finest track and field athletes – will be the largest sporting event in the world in 2021, with nearly 2,000 participants representing as many as 213 different countries from around the world.
The 2021 IAAF World Championships will join a long list of prestigious track and field events held in TrackTown USA. The University of Oregon has welcomed five U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials – including Eugene 08 and TrackTown 12, with a sixth coming in July of 2016 – the annual Prefontaine Classic, multiple USA Outdoor Championships and the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships through 2021.
About TrackTown USA:
TrackTown USA, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to setting a standard of excellence in the sports of track and field and running by hosting premier events, creating a supportive environment for elite athletic performances, improving facilities, being a leader in sustainability efforts and inspiring the next generation of track and field athletes and fans. The organization is responsible for organizing the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, the 2015 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials–Track & Field.
About USATF:
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the country’s #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org.
