Athletics
Top facts about Hayward Field – and its links to Jesse Owens and Flo-Jo
Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, hosts the USA's first World Athletics Championships from 15–24 July. But did you know these facts about the University of Oregon's track and field stadium?
When the World Athletics Championships 2022 finally get underway at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene on Friday (15 July), it will mark the first time that the United States has hosted track and field's top international championships outside of the Olympic Games.
The stadium, which re-opened in 2020 after a big renovation project, has 12,650 permanent seats and has capacity for up to 25,000 fans in attendance – and this year's Oregon22 World Championships is sure to attract a significant number of fans.
Hayward Field, which is named for Bill Hayward, who was Oregon's track and field head coach for 43 years from 1904 to 1947, also previously hosted the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics in its previous incarnation, which is now referred to as Historic Hayward Field.
Read on to discover some facts about the stadium set to host this year's World Championships that you may not have known.
And here is everything you need to know about the 2022 Track and Field World Championships.
Over a century at Hayward Field
It's true! Historic Hayward Field first opened in 1919 as an American football stadium for the University of Oregon Ducks, and first had a running track installed two years later. That means the stadium has had a 101-year span serving as a track and field venue.
That first running track was built out of cinder, and was – as standard for the time – built to a distance of 440 yards. It had six lanes, and that wasn't expanded to eight lanes until 1970 – the same year the track was replaced by a new surface and gained a reputation as a fast track.
It was finally converted from 440 yards to the international-standard 400 metres in 1988.
From Flo-Jo to Carl Lewis to Kipchoge, the stars have raced at Hayward Field
For a stadium with so much history, there's no real surprise that many of the world's best have, at one point or another, competed at Hayward Field.
The stadium has hosted the Prefontaine Classic – a stop on the World Athletics Diamond League circuit since 2010 (and before that an IAAF Grand Prix event) – since 1975, and that has attracted international stars to Eugene.
In fact, Eliud Kipchoge holds the Prefontaine Classic meet record in the men's 3000m, before he made the switch from the track to the road. Before the Prefontaine Classic became a major international event, Hayward Field also hosted the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1972, 1976, and 1980 (it has since also hosted the last three trials, in 2012, 2016, and 2021).
At the last of those – for the U.S. team that eventually boycotted Moscow 1980 – both Florence Griffith (later to become Florence Griffith Joyner) and Carl Lewis took part. Flo-Jo finished eighth in the women's 100m final and fourth in the 200m, while Lewis was fourth in the men's 100m. Lewis also competed in various U.S. national championships at Hayward Field.
There's a Jesse Owens portrait linked to Hayward Field
Yep, even the legendary Jesse Owens – who ran in the 1930s, long before Hayward Field became the modern fast track it is known as these days – has a link to the site.
While it's not known if Owens ever ran at Hayward Field, the 1936 Olympic champion has a surprising connection to Eugene.
When Historic Hayward Field was being taken apart in preparation for its big 2018 renovation, materials from the historic site were salvaged and recycled. The materials were distributed to 18 different groups and individuals in Oregon, including a mural project by the City of Eugene specifically for the 2022 World Athletics Championships.
One of those murals is a large 8x8ft (2.44x2.44m) portrait of Owens, created by British artist Matt Small, which stands on Willamette Street in Eugene.
Hayward Field has appeared in multiple films
Did you know Hayward Field first appeared on the big screen in 1929? It was in a silent film called Ed's Coed that year.
Since then, the arena has appeared in four other films: Animal House in 1978, Personal Best in 1982, Without Limits – a biographical account of Steve Prefontaine's life and career – in 1998, and Tracktown in 2016.
The last of those movies, Tracktown, was written, directed and produced by, and starred, Oregon Duck and Greek Olympian Alexi Pappas.
A 10-story tower stands tall at Hayward Field
Hayward Field, now with its new stadium bowl and concourses, is an impressive sight to behold following a massive two-year renovation (during which the 2019 Prefontaine Classic was actually moved to Stanford's track in California).
Equally impressive is a 10-story tower located right next to the stadium, standing 57.5m tall (188ft 8in), built in the shape of a torch inspired by the Olympic torch.
While it has exhibits, offices, a concourse level, and an observation deck, perhaps most impressive is its exterior, which features the likenesses of five icons of the University of Oregon track and field program.
They are Bill Bowerman, who coached Oregon from 1948 to 1972 (and for whom the mile race at Eugene's Prefontaine Classic is named); Steve Prefontaine, a seven-time collegiate champion who also represented the USA at Munich 1972 before losing his life in a motor accident in 1975; Raevyn Rogers, the current Olympic bronze medallist over 800m; Ashton Eaton, the two-time Olympic decathlon champion at London 2012 and Rio 2016; and Otis Davis, the first Oregon Duck to win Olympic gold when he did so in the 400m at Rome 1960.
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