The Eugene World Cup, the first in the US, is already underway

adam kenanfive -time champion of Canada hammer throw, had the honor, this Friday, to debut Eugene, Oregonwith an anecdotal mark of 74.38 meters, the eighteenth edition of the world athletics championships, which for the first time in its 39-year history has come to the territory of the world’s leading power in this sport.

The Hayward Field at the University of Oregonbuilt in 1919, renovated in 2020 and with a capacity of 25,000 spectators, will receive from July 15 to 24 more than 1,900 athletes from 192 countries who will tread the path followed by legends such as Carl Lewis or Florence Griffith.

It hasn’t been since the Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games that the United States has hosted a global outdoor athlete competition. Twenty-six years later, Eugene is the smallest city (176,000 inhabitants) to host the World Cup.

The first day’s program already offers three finals: the two 20 km walk, women’s and men’s, and the 4×400 mixed relay, where Allyson Felix can say goodbye after earning a record yield of 18 medals (13 gold) in these championships, since the 2005 Helsinki edition. The American leads by 4 medals to second on the list, the Jamaican Usain Bolt.

Eugene has a rich history of athletics behind it, for example, the sports brand Nike started in this mid-sized city located about 175 kilometers south of Portland.

In addition, “Track Town, USA”, one of the city’s nicknames as a reference in its relation to athletics, is also the venue of one of the Diamond League meetings.

According to The Oregonian newspaper, Eugene expects about 55,000 visitors these days who, according to predictions by economists and analysts, could spend approximately $ 52 million during the championships.