For the first time ever, the World Athletics Championships are coming to the United States. Choosing the perfect location for this accolade was no easy task. Eugene, Oregon, otherwise known as Tracktown USA, was picked to host the event that starts on July 15.

The World Athletic Championships are usually biennial but were postponed in 2021. The event is run by World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation, and was made in response to the 50 kilometer walk being removed from the Olympics in 1976. It has become one of the most important track and field events in the world with 32 world records being set at the competition over the years.

The first World Championships were held in 1983 after being approved in 1976. The first event was held in Helsinki, Finland. Since then, there have been 17 events with the 18th coming in 2022.

The previous World competition in 2019 took place in Qatar. It was the first time ever being held in the Middle East, and there were indeed some issues — a lack of spectators, a flat atmosphere and warm conditions made for a challenging setting. Surprisingly, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe called it the best Championships in history. 

The 2022 World Championships will be held at the newly renovated Hayward Field. Khalifa International Stadium was the home to the event in 2019 and has the capacity to hold just over 45,000 people. Hayward on the other hand can only hold up to 25,000 at max capacity. There will be about 2,000 athletes coming to the event along with other staff and fans expected to overflood the city of Eugene.

Most nearby hotels are already out of rooms during the 10-day event while final-touch renovations are still being added to compensate. The renovations at Hayward Field started in 2018 and took their final shape in the fall of 2020. Donations by the Knight family and other donors helped fund the project in hopes to make Hayward Field one of the most prestigious track and field venues in the country, costing over $270 million dollars along the way.

Adding more space for the expected large crowd is only one of the things different about the new stadium. Updated locker rooms, training rooms, a new nine-lane track, a practice area and other additions were all incorporated during the two-year renovation process.

The inaugural event in 1983 had 41 events and lasted a week. Since then, eight events have been added with an additional three more days to correspond. The 2022 event is also expected to have 53 more nations than the first one, up to 207.

Out of the 17 championships, the United States has won 13 and aims to become the first country to win the event on home soil. Eight of the last nine have been won by the Americans with Kenya being the only other champion, winning in 2015. Whoever ends up winning the overall team event will be rewarded with a team event trophy, a newly added piece of silverware that was announced in March.