For Oregon's Grass-Roots Track and Field Community, The World Championships Offered A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity To Witness Global Event Up Close

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

It's been nearly a week since the World Athletics Championships concluded at Hayward Field, and many who were there are still processing, and recovering, from what they experienced. 

For local high school coaches who were invested in the 10-day spectacle, there are encouraging signs that the international meet will serve to inspire a new generation of track and field athletes. 

"Many of our cross country and track athletes attended one or more sessions, but most simply watched on TV," said coach Joe Fulton of Philomath High, located less than an hour north of Eugene.

"But whether feeling the unique atmosphere of Hayward with athletes and fans from 192 nations milling about or being able to see the determination of athletes up close on the television, I am sure the meet had an impact on many of my athletes. It certainly had a profound impact on me."

Seven members of the Philomath team participated in the flag relay at the Opening Ceremonies and others watched from the stands. 

For athletes and coaches who have participated in state championship meets at Hayward Field, witnessing the world's best up close was profound. 

"By far, my favorite moment was seeing Shericka Jackson win the 200 and hearing how loud the stadium got," said Lily Jones, a graduate of Portland's Roosevelt High and an incoming freshman at the University of Oregon.

"It seems that regardless of what country you’re technically supposed to root for, everyone always gets excited to see the Jamaican women run amazing times."

Jones is en route to Cali, Colombia to respresent the U.S. in the World Athletics U20 Championships, where she anticipates competing in the 4x100 relay. 

She attended Day 7 of the World Championships and had a training session in Eugene where she worked on baton passes. 

"Feeling the energy and seeing professional athletes like Sydney McLaughlin and Abby Steiner wearing the same USA uniform that I’m going to be putting on in just a few short days really put into perspective for me how hard I’ve worked to get to this point and what my track career can eventually be if I continue on this path." Jones said. "I definitely realized while I was there that I want so badly to compete at a professional level at some point in time."

At Siuslaw High, on the Oregon coast, members of the Italian national team occupied the high school track and held training sessions prior to the meet. 

The city of Florence, where Siuslaw High is located, was one of a handful of Oregon towns that welcomed athletes and coaches from around the world. Creswell was the home base of Finland. The Irish team was at McKenzie. The British team was in Corvallis. Spain was in Salem. 

Siuslaw coach Chris Johnson, who attended the World Championships on six of the days with his wife, Amy, was among the diehard track fans who was riveted by the performances. 

"Sydney (McLaughlin) and her world record, I didn't think anything could beat that," Johnson said. "But as someone who also coaches high school pole vault, when Mondo (Duplantis) goes to 6.21m and makes it ... unbelievable. I can't think of a moment that was more special than that. It was one of the most exciting things I've ever seen."

An estimated 18 million viewers tuned in to watch the meet on NBC's platforms, an encouraging sign that the meet drew the attention of a wide-ranging audience. 

But it's hard to imagine any single person who absorbed as much of the action and also the post-meet festivities like Dwayne 'Peanut' Harms, from Placerville, Calif. did.

Harms took in all of the competition and then migrated over to the Wild Duck each night, where he served as a semi-official host and social coordinator for steady stream of track and field dignitaries, medalists and revelers. 

"My role is to be an ambassador for fun, frivolity and excitement," said Harms, 71, who counts 48 years of coaching and work in the track and field industry. 

Harms welcomed and took photos with medalists from around the world and helped make the Wild Duck the center of the post-meet universe during the run of the World Championships. 

"It was such a great event. The best track meet I've ever been to, full of drama and intrgue," he said. 

For Harms, one moment at the meet surpassed all of the others. 

"Number one is when Rai Benjamin tackled (Trevor) Bassitt at the end of the 400-meter hurdles final," Harms said. "There was so much competitive fire, mixed with love and respect, compressed into one moment. I get goosebumps just talking about it. It covered all the bases: competitve, humanity, unity, respect."

As the calendar tips into August, and the start of cross country, memories of the World Championships, and seeing it in person, could seep into the imaginations of young athletes. 

"I felt like the majority of my kids were super engaged and excited about the World Championships," said Lincoln (Portland) coach Eric Dettman. "Nearly every day I had kids reaching out asking if they could practice earlier so they could drive down to Worlds. I'd guess over 50 perecent of my kids went at least one day."

Some of them witnessed Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Faith Kipyegon, Athing Mu, Jake Wightman, among many others. 

"I had multiple kids come back and express how excited they were to run and get into fall XC training," Dettman said.