The athletes pack their belongings and leave the University of Oregon campus after the World Cup exam, mixed emotions for each of them. The nearby airports are filled with national tracksuits and you can see in the elongated bags the work tool of the pole vaulters, so uncomfortable to transport.
The 18th edition of the World Championships in Athletics is already history. Eugene’s election ended the anomaly that a championship had never been held in the United States, the most successful country in this sport. And the North American team took advantage of its local condition to show overwhelming dominance, with exhibitions such as triplets in speed (100m and 200m), and in the men’s shot put.
Except in 2001, when it was second in the medal table in Edmonton (Canada), behind Russia, and in Beijing 2015, surpassed by Kenya and Jamaica, the USA has led all the classifications of this century. In Oregon, without Russian athletes, banned due to the war, and with the extra motivation of competing at home, the American team tried to beat all records: finally they partially achieved it: they did it in quantity, adding 33 medals, above the 30 he got at London 2017, his ceiling so far, but not in quality: he was one short of equaling the 14 gold medals at Osaka 2007.
Still, no one in Eugene coughed on him. He achieved more than three times as many medals as his closest rivals: Ethiopia, Jamaica and Kenya with 10. The latter did not meet expectations in the long-distance events, especially in the marathon, which was won by Ethiopians in both the men’s and women’s categories. Also noteworthy is the failure of Cuba, which returned empty-handed. Spain went beyond 30th place in the medal table with two bronze medals, although it improved the performance of the last two editions: in Doha 2019 it only achieved a bronze, and in London 2017 it came back empty. If the other six finalists are taken into account, it was the best world championship in 15 years, since Osaka 2007.
The good work of the American team contrasts with some organizational setbacks. The World Cup was held in Eugene, a venue that had its logic: it is the town with the greatest athletic tradition in the country (very close to where Nike was born; which has its headquarters nearby). And the athletes appreciate that being in a small city (176,000 inhabitants) and most of them sleeping on the University campus, just a few meters from the stadium, they avoid making long journeys. But it has posed a logistical challenge, with complaints about a lack of hotel rooms and high prices for both rooms and tickets. That has resulted in criticism for the lack of public. The Hayward Field stands were not filled despite the stadium’s capacity being around 20,000 seats. Former athlete Michael Johnson publicly complained about it. “The crowd tonight is disappointing. This is not the ideal situation. Sports icon Allyson Felix last race and the stadium isn’t full?,” he lamented on Twitter.
In terms of world records, those of Doha were equaled. The American Sydney McLaughlin obtained it in the 400m hurdles (50.68s). The Nigerian Tobi Amusan in the 100m hurdles (12.12s). And the Swedish Mondo Duplantis in the pole (6.21m). It was the end of a World Cup celebration that, according to the organization, has improved its television audience in the United States, and that can serve as a boost for its team ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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