Top moments to remember
EUGENE, Ore. — The United States hosted the world track and field championships for the first time, and the host put on a rousing performance — a record 33 medals — over 10 days in TrackTown USA. A look back at 10 notable moments:
Best day for USA
On the first Sunday (July 17) of the meet, the U.S. had the best performance in a single day in the history of the championships: Nine medals, including four gold.
The Americans took gold and bronze in the women’s hammer by Brooke Andersen and Janee’ Kassanavoid; gold and silver in the women’s pole vault by Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris; gold and silver in the men’s 110 hurdles by Grant Holloway and Trey Cunningham; and a sweep of the men’s shot put by Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs and Josh Awotunde.
The previous mark was eight (one gold) by the Soviet Union in Tokyo on Aug. 31, 1991.
“It’s all worth it in the end,” said Andersen, who worked 30 to 35 hours per week at Chipotle and another 20 at GNC to make ends meet while training. “If this is the outcome, I’d do it a million times over.”
Golden oldie
Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce led Jamaica’s sweep of the women’s 100 and became the first person to win five world titles in an individual running event. At 35, she became the oldest world champion in an individual event on the track.
“I can’t even imagine the amount of times I’ve had setbacks and I’ve bounced back, and I’m here again,” she said. “I continue to remind myself that sometimes it’s not because you don’t have the ability but it’s the right time. I feel blessed to have this talent and to continue to do it at 35, having a baby, still going, and hopefully inspiring women that they can make their own journey.”
Fraser-Pryce also won silver in the 200 and 4x100 relay. She even took time to fix her turquoise wig in a qualifying heat of the 200.
Two Felix farewells
When Allyson Felix helped the U.S. to a bronze in the 4x400 mixed relay to begin the event, it appeared to be the end of her celebrated career.
She flew home, went to the ESPYs and indulged in a plate of hot wings.
But when the U.S. coaches called and asked her back to run in the qualifying round of the women’s 4x400 relay, she was back.
She ran the second leg in qualifying and then earned another gold when the U.S. breezed to the title Sunday.
It gave her 20 career medals in the world championships, a record.
“They just called me and asked if I am willing to be in, and I am here. I jumped on the plane, and here we go” Felix said. “It is really cool. I did not expect it to happen. But I am always up to run with this team. This is really special. It feels so nice to come out and run here at home. For my last big race, I am really having fun.”
How sweep it is
The U.S. swept three events: the men’s 100 and 200, and the men’s shot put.
The 1-2-3 finishes in the 100 and 200 marked the first time any nation had swept both at the same world championships.
Texas A&M’s Fred Kerley led the 100 ahead of Marvin BracyWilliams and Trayvon Bromell.
“It’s a wonderful blessing to get a clean sweep,” said Kerley, who injured a quad in the 200 prelims to end his championships.
Noah Lyles broke Michael Johnson’s U.S. record (set in 1996) in the 200. Kenny Bednarek, who is often the forgotten man in discussion of the 200 in the U.S., matched his silver from Tokyo. Teenager Erriyon Knighton was third.
“It’s an immaculate feeling to be on the podium with two fellow Americans,” said Lyles. “We are a dominant force in America now.”
In the shot, it was former Texas shot putter Crouser followed by his rival Kovacs and newcomer Awotunde. Crouser passed Kovacs on his fifth throw, just minutes after Kovacs had taken the lead.
“The USA has so much depth and has been dominant for so long,” said Crouser, who won gold in Tokyo. “We’ve been talking about a sweep for a long time, and we’ve finally done it.”
Go Syd Go
Sydney McLaughlin lowered her world record in the 400 hurdles for the fourth time in the last 14 months and came back two nights later to anchor the U.S. women’s 4x400 relay team to another gold.
Her dominance left many wondering what is next.
She said she would discuss her options with her coach, Bobby Kersee, at the end of the season. She left open the possibility that she could compete in the 400 or the 100 hurdles — or some combination of events. In any case, there are more championships to chase and records to break.
“My coach thinks there’s a lot more to be done,” she said.
Medal for Ukraine
As the women’s high jump began, Ukraine’s Iryna Gerashchenko waved to Andriy Protsenko, who was receiving his bronze medal for the men’s jump.
Gerashchenko finished fourth but saw her teammate Yaroslava Mahuchikh win the silver.
It was a rewarding two days for athletes from the war-torn country.
“Things are a bit better, but at the same time, the war is going on,’’ said Gerashchenko. “It’s very hard to live the life before, the previous life. But I’m very happy that my parents are safe.”
The high jump medals were the two won by the 22 athletes from Ukraine competing in Eugene.
“The worse thing is that I cannot come back to Ukraine and cannot celebrate with my parents and with my dearest people,” Mahuchikh said.
Said Protsenko: “Three months ago, I managed to take my family from Ukraine and occupied territory, but I left everything in my hometown of Kherson. I took only one bag. That’s all I have. I even don’t have base in Europe. Coming back from Eugene, I should look for the house where my family will live and for place where I will able to continue my preparation. That is terrible situation.”
A pair of upsets
It had been one of the most anticipated races of the year: a rematch of the Olympic men’s 400 hurdles final between Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin.
Instead, it was Brazil’s Alison dos Santos who glided to victory over Benjamin. Warholm was seventh and covered his face in dejection as he crossed the finish line.
“When you win, you start being everyone’s favorite,” said dos Santos, who returned the next day and danced for the crowd with the meet’s mascot, Legend.
In the men’s 1,500, all the prerace talk had been of Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, but Britain’s Jake Wightman took the race and shared a special moment afterward with his mom and his dad, who was working in Eugene as a track announcer.
“I’ve been dreaming of this since I was 8 years old,” Wightman said. “Having my mom in the stands and my dad calling the race at the stadium — what else could I ask for? This is a very special place for me. I loved my lap of honor, hearing my dad from the commentary box and seeing my mom. I just want to share this moment with them.”
Houston’s mettle
A pair of Houston-area runners, Bryce Deadmon and Champion Allison, ran the last two legs of the gold-medal winning 4x400 team.
“It is crazy,” said Deadmon, who also won gold in Tokyo in the relay and a bronze there in the 4x400 mixed relay. “Especially with the crowd roaring while running. … In Tokyo, they had like a ‘virtual audio,’ but to hear this crowd here, it was like crazy. It was definitely a help to have a home crowd here.”
Deadmon ran at Ridge Point and Texas A&M. Allison competed at George Ranch and the University of Florida.
“These nine days have been a big life lesson,” Allison said.
Raevyn Rogers, who won a bronze in the 800 in Tokyo, advanced to the final of the 800 here but finished sixth behind former Texas A&M runner Athing Mu, who won the event.
“This was one of those races when you just take what it is,” said Rogers, who ran for Kinkaid. “It is still a great moment for America. Still a great moment for the team — winning the first world champs for the USA. I think it is a great time to celebrate her. I felt really comfortable about the race. It was a great competition. You need to learn from it even if you are losing. Now, it is the time to get back to work. That was a great moment for America today.”
Hurdler Alaysha Johnson of Spring didn’t advance in the women’s 100 hurdles after hitting the first two hurdles.
Tripp Piperi, the NCAA champion from the University of Texas and The Woodlands, was the fourth U.S. entry in the shot put and finished eighth.
Finishing touch
Former LSU pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, who competes for Sweden in honor of his mother, closed the meet with another world record.
After waiting for calm after the women’s 4x400 relay, Duplantis easily cleared 20-4½ to break his own mark.
“Actually, I did not think about the record that much today. Usually, it is always somewhere in the back of my mind, but today I was really focused on the win, and I really wanted to win the gold so badly. It was the medal I was missing.”
Debut experience
This was the first time for the event to be held in the U.S., which often focuses on track only during the Olympics.
And while the performance at Heyward Field was among the best ever, the jury is still out on the event as a whole.
The broadcast coverage by NBC was spread out on several networks and often hard to find, and the 30,000-seat stadium wasn’t full at times. The event was the third major track event held there in recent months after the NCAA and U.S. championships. It might have played in TrackTown USA, as Eugene bills itself, but did it register outside the track community?
“We need to be in (the U.S.) market,” said Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, the global governing body of track and field. “It’s important. It’s not punching its weight.”