USA Track and Field announced on Thursday that Hayward Field will host the 2020 United States Track & Field Olympic Trials.
The 2020 trials were set to be held at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California, but after renovation concerns, the door opened for Eugene to host the trials once again. Hayward Field has hosted the past three Olympic Trials and a total of six. The 2020 trials will run June 19-28 ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which begin July 24, 2020.
Runners start the 10,000 meters. The Track and Field Olympic Trials are held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on July 1, 2016. (Kaylee Domzalski/Emerald)
“No domestic event is more important to athletes and fans than the Olympic Trials,” USATF Chairman of the Board Steve Miller said in USATF’s announcement. “The 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials is even more critical because it will lead off an unprecedented opportunity to elevate track & field in this country.
Hayward Field is currently under renovation for the 2021 IAAF World Championships, which led to the complete demolition of the historic track stadium on the campus of the University of Oregon.
Hayward’s teardown hasn’t been the only controversy surrounding the new Hayward Field and the 2021 Worlds.
Vin Lananna has been on temporary leave as USATF President since February following a U.S. Department of Justice investigation. Lananna resigned as TrackTown USA President because he was “spread too thin” between his jobs, which includes his role as associate athletic director at UO.
With the 2020 Olympic Trials now on the slate for Hayward Field, it becomes even more essential that the construction of the new state-of-the-art stadium does not fall behind.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow
During the first day of the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, both Oregon athletes Raevyn Rogers and Marcus Chambers qualified for the semifinals in the women’s 800 and the men’s 400, respectively. For Rogers, there was a brief fear that she wouldn’t make the team, as she finished third …
