Since the 1980's I've had a bucket list to try to attend every major track and field event the world has to offer. It started with the 1976 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon where I was fortunate enough to be there as a working journalist. Those were different times then. I witnessed things first hand that left deep indelible memories. There was an injured Marty Liquori crying into his wife's shoulder after having to drop out of the 5,000 meter heats. Gerry Bjorklund making a stunning run to the finish minus one shoe to make the 10,000 team blasting by Bill Rodgers for third. An arrogant Dave Roberts breaking the world record in the pole vault after breaking his pole and borrowing a pole from the classiest of acts, Earl Bell.
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| 1976 1500 Trials Final |
I had thought long and hard about going to Eugene but spending ten days at the meet between astronomical hotel costs, tickets and travel just seemed a bit much. Fortunately early in the year my favorite track and field travel companion Chris Ronan called me and said he had tickets for the last two nights of competition. I said yes. Then I asked if he would be game to come down a day early from Seattle and catch Friday night's competition and he was game.
Chris did all the heavy lifting, patiently waiting for an AirBNB that was halfway affordable. He made the long drive from Seattle, picking me up in Portland for our journey to Eugene. This marked our third Eugene trip together, with stops at Prefontaine in 2005 and 2017. We had also traveled to a meet in 1998 in Edwardsville, Illinois which was set up as a swan song for heptathlon great Jackie Joyner Kersee.
I went to Eugene prepared to hate the new Hayward Field. I had attended a half dozen meets at old Hayward. It's charm, the incredible noise from the stomping on the wooden bleachers made it a nostalgic venue. I had my doubts on how you replace such history. Once I caught sight of the new edifice my doubts crumbled. It's a magnificent facility. The seating was amazing and the noise. It seemed to me it was a much, much louder stadium than old Hayward.
The three nights of competition was amazing. As great as it was to see Sydney McLaughlin's stunning world record in the 400 hurdles I enjoyed just as much watching American Kyra Winger end her long career with a sixth round throw to claim silver in the javelin.
The following night just as we were celebrating the amazing victory by the USA women's 4x100 relay victory, the American men disappointed with their second place finish. How the American coaching staff did not put either Grant Holloway or Eriyon Knighton on that squad is beyond me. It took the brilliance off an amazing evening.
The final night started off with a personal flub. I rushed to hit the restroom as the women's 100 meter hurdles semi-finals started. I mean, what could possible happen during a semi. I missed the world record. I thought I found redemption when Nigeria's Tobi Amusan ran a stunning 12.06 in the final but alas, it was wind aided. Chris and I sat directly in front of the pole vault competition and American born Swede Mondo Duplantis saved the day by breaking the world record by a centimeter.
The craziest part of that final Sunday was watching Jakob Ingebrigtsen fantastic gold medal run in the 5,000. It was blistering hot and Norway's Olympic 1500 meter gold medalist took not one, but two shots and grabbing a cup of water during the race. He confidently drifted out into lane four, how the Kenyans and Ugandans didn't decide to up the pace at those moments is beyond me. It was pretty clear they had conceded the race to Ingebrigtsen and were biding their time to sort out the silver and bronze.
What's on tap next for track and field travel? Well, it's not track but the World Road Racing Championships are in Riga next September.
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