Editorial: Lace up, Oregon. The World Athletics Championships Oregon22 is about to begin

Sometime before an expected 55,000 visitors descend on Eugene for the marquee international track-and-field event of the year, Oregon leaders, boosters and visionaries who have prepared to host the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 should take a breath and revel in the moment.

Starting on Friday, nearly 2,000 athletes from 200 countries will face off in 10 days of track-and-field events, aiming to outrun, outthrow and outjump one another in contests won by split seconds and millimeters. One of the largest sporting events in the world, the competition will be broadcast and streamed globally with Hayward Field, the University of Oregon and the state serving as the backdrop. Between the economic impact of visitors’ spending and the media value of such exposure, the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 is projected to deliver hundreds of millions in benefits for the state.

Oregon could use a win. As it has across the nation, the pandemic pummeled the state’s hospitality industry, with forced closures, slow recoveries and a labor shortage. The state, particularly Portland, has been singled out by some national media outlets over the past two years, for destructive protests, homelessness and crime, a stark shift from the shining – and similarly reductionist – reputation that it has long enjoyed. Top-notch competition coupled with a celebration hailing Oregon’s proud running heritage, all within the setting of a stunningly renovated Hayward Field fills that need.

This did not come together painlessly, cheaply or without controversy. But with the decision to site the event in Oregon, leaders, official and non-official, made it happen. Gov. Kate Brown came through with her commitment to deliver $40 million to support the event. Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, led the renovation of Hayward Field to the tune of at least $270 million. Track enthusiasts and local travel marketing groups worked with communities to find lodging and arrange transportation for visitors.

But this is also more than just an economic or sports opportunity. It’s a chance for Oregonians to reacquaint themselves with the state’s venerable track-and-field culture, from the century-old history of Hayward Field where loud crowds have long given UO athletes a home-field advantage to the long line of storied coaches who built a track-and-field powerhouse. There are the iconic athletes who have given Oregon a signature identity, charisma and flair, from Coos Bay native Steve Prefontaine to today’s gravity-defying shot putter Ryan Crouser of Boring. This heritage is intertwined with Oregon’s future, as the creation of a business nearly 60 years ago by former UO runner Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman, would give rise to Oregon’s only Fortune 100 company – and spawn a cluster of related companies orbiting around it.

Certainly, there are 1,000 ways that things, big and small, can go awry. Expect congested freeways, busier restaurants and people asking for directions. Consider wearing a mask to help thwart further spread of the pandemic-that-won’t-go-away. Recognize that this is a huge undertaking for which organizers, athletes and Oregonians need to be flexible.

But also recognize why we have this opportunity in front of us ­– the sheer chutzpah of Oregon backers who would presume to argue that the college town of Eugene, population 170,000, deserved to be the first U.S. city to join the likes of Paris, Beijing and London in hosting the event. It is that spirit of taking on the improbable that should stick with us all, long after the races have ended.

-The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board