Calendar announced for 2021 WMRA World Cup

The 2021 World Mountain Running Association World Cup series will feature 16 races spread across eight countries with events taking place in USA, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, France and Austria.

With just 12 days to go until the World Athletics Awards 2020, the names of the five finalists for the Male World Athlete of the Year 2020 have been confirmed.
In spite of the many challenges presented by the global Covid-19 pandemic this year, the five athletes, who represent five countries and three area associations, have excelled, producing brilliant performances across nearly all athletics disciplines in 2020.
The finalists are (in alphabetical order):
Joshua Cheptegei, Uganda - broke world records at 5000m (12:35.36), 10,000m (26:11.00) and 5km on the roads (12:51) - was fourth at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships on his debut over the distance
Ryan Crouser, USA - undefeated in 10 shot put competitions - his 22.91m world-leading performance moved him to equal third on the world all-time list
Mondo Duplantis, Sweden - broke the world record in the pole vault twice (6.17m and 6.18m) and produced the highest outdoor vault of all time (6.15m) - undefeated in 16 competitions
Johannes Vetter, Germany - won eight of his nine javelin competitions - threw a world-leading 97.76m, the second farthest throw in history
Karsten Warholm, Norway - ran a world-leading 46.87 in the 400m hurdles, the second fastest performance in history - undefeated in nine 400m/400m hurdles races and set world best of 33.78 in 300m hurdles
The male and female World Athletes of the Year will be announced live at the World Athletics Awards 2020 to be staged as a virtual event on Saturday 5 December and streamed live on the World Athletics YouTube channel, its Facebook page and via Twitter.
<h3>Voting procedure for 2020 World Athletes of the Year</h3>
A three-way voting process determined the finalists.
The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family cast their votes by email, while fans voted online via our social media platforms. The Council&rsquo;s vote counted for 50% of the result, while the Athletics Family&rsquo;s votes and the public votes each counted for 25% of the final result.
Voting for the Male World Athlete of the Year closed on 15 November.
World Athletics

Finalists announced for Male World Athlete of the Year 2020

The five finalists for the Male World Athlete of the Year 2020 have been confirmed

1984 Olympic 20km race walk champion Canto dies

World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that Mexico’s 1984 Olympic 20km race walk champion and 1983 world champion Ernesto Canto died on Friday (20) at the age of 61 from pancreatic and liver cancer.

World record holders Brigid Kosgei and Ababel Yeshaneh have been added to the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon women's ﬁeld, making the 16th edition of this World Athletics Gold Label race on 29 November the strongest in the history of event - and one of the strongest half marathon contests in the world in 2020.
At the Chicago Marathon in October 2019, Kenya&rsquo;s Kosgei stunned the world when she broke the long-standing women&rsquo;s world marathon record by more than a minute, clocking 2:14:04. Yeshaneh was a distant second on that occasion but nevertheless still ran a superb personal best of 2:20:51.
However, the tables were turned at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February this year when a head-to-head contest in the final stages of the race saw Ethiopia&rsquo;s Yeshaneh prevail in a world record 1:04:31 with Kosgei second in 1:04:49.
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In their most recent outings last month, the 26-year-old Kosgei won the rescheduled London Marathon in 2:18:58 while the 29-year-old Yeshaneh had to contend with misfortune and fell at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, with just over three kilometres remaining, which took her out of medal contention although she recovered quickly to finish fifth.
A trio of Ethiopian runners have already been announced that will provide stiff competition for Kosgei and Yeshaneh as well as a host of other world class athletes.
Women's course record holder Tsehay Gemechu is seeking an unprecedented third successive victory. In 2019, Gemechu improved her own course record from 12 months earlier by no less than 50 seconds when she stopped the clocking 1:06:00.
Yeshaneh and Gemechu's compatriots on the start line in in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium include Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Netsanet Gudeta.
Yehualaw ﬁnished second in the ADHM 2019, just one second behind Gemechu, and third at the 2020 World Championships last month in a personal best of 1:05:19 while Gudeta finished eighth in Poland but was the 2018 world half marathon champion.
Both the men's and women's races have first prize cheques of US$27,000, part of a total prize money purse (combined men and women) of US$233,270.
<h3>Strict safety measures in place </h3>
This year's race will be unlike any previous edition with only an estimated 60 elite international and Indian runners in action on the Delhi roads, with the traditional start and finish still in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The event will follow the highest level of safety standards, with bio-secure zones to ensure a COVID-free race for the runners. All mandatory protocols in line with the advisories issued by the Government of India have been established for the event crew, vendors and suppliers, elite athletes, media and all guests.
"Sport has always been a symbol of optimism, and we look forward to the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon," said Minister Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju. "We extend our full support to this event that is India's pride and welcome the world's best athletes to our capital city."
Non-elite runners will have the chance to participate virtually with an <a href="https://airteldelhihalfmarathon.procam.in/app-experience">ADHM 2020 App</a> from any location, running at any time between 25-29 November 2020.
Phil Minshull (organisers) for World Athletics

World record holders Brigid Kosgei and Ababel Yeshaneh have been added to the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon women's ﬁeld, making the 16th edition of this World Athletics Gold Label race on 29 November the strongest in the history of event - and one of the strongest half marathon contests in the world in 2020.

World record-holders Kosgei and Yeshaneh set to clash at Delhi Half Marathon

Brigid Kosgei and Ababel Yeshaneh have been added to the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon women's ﬁeld

World Athletics is delighted to announce that legendary sprint stars Sanya Richards-Ross and Ato Boldon will host the World Athletics Awards 2020, to be staged as a virtual event on Saturday 5 December.
Richards-Ross, who raced to the world 400m title in 2009 and captured Olympic gold in the event in 2012, will host the event for the first time while Boldon, the 1997 world 200m champion and a four-time Olympic medallist in the 100m and 200m, will reprise his role, having hosted the event before.
Richards-Ross and Boldon, who both now work as television commentators, took a brief break from their preparations to share some thoughts about the past season and the upcoming World Athletics Awards 2020, which will be streamed live on the World Athletics <a href="https://www.youtube.com/worldathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube channel</a>, its<a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Facebook page</a> and via <a href="https://twitter.com/worldathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>.
<h3>Six questions for Sanya Richards-Ross&hellip;</h3>
WA: Sanya, you&rsquo;ve won World Athlete of the Year award in 2006 and 2009. What is your most cherished memory of those ceremonies?
SRR: Those were some of the most exciting times of my career, and I have so many memories, but I&rsquo;ll never forget handing Prince Albert my trophy to hold while I was giving my speech. He was so gracious, as he always is, but when I returned to my seat my dad explained to me why it might not have been appropriate to ask the Prince to hold my trophy. What can I say, I was young and he&rsquo;s pretty awesome!
 Q: Was it harder to make an acceptance speech or is it harder to host the awards?
A: This is a funny one! Neither is hard. I was so honoured to do both. To win the awards meant everything to me, writing the speech was easy and having the honour to now host and see other athletes receive this honour that I know they&rsquo;re worked so hard for brings me just as much joy.
 Q: Because of the pandemic, the 2020 Awards will be held virtually. How do you feel about that? What are some of the challenges you will face?
A: Being forced to do the awards show virtually isn&rsquo;t nearly as much fun as getting to be in person with everyone but it does present an opportunity to try new things. I&rsquo;m excited that we&rsquo;re still going to have the show and I'm not focused on the challenges but instead the opportunity.
 Q: What is it like hosting with Ato?
A: I love Ato! He&rsquo;s so fun to work with and we both really want to put together a great show. I can&rsquo;t wait for you all to see it.
 Q: 2020 has been very special. What was your highlight of the year on and off the track?
A: I loved seeing the athletes get back to it. Mondo Duplantis breaking the world record twice this year with everything happening reminds me that we can soar to new heights no matter the circumstances we face. Off the track I&rsquo;ve made a big move to Atlanta and I&rsquo;m now co-hosting an exciting new show called <a href="https://centralavetv.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Central Ave</a>. It&rsquo;s awesome, you all should check it out when you can.
 Q: Which of the awards to be revealed on 5 December are you most looking forward to this year?
A: I&rsquo;m most excited about Male and Female Athletes of the Year. I always am. 
<h3>...And five for Ato Boldon</h3>
WA: You hosted the Athletics Awards in 2012 in Barcelona and in 2016 in Monaco. Because of the current situation, you&rsquo;ll be hosting the 2020 Awards virtually. What will the challenges be?
AB: The whole year has forced those of us who broadcast to adapt. I called the Wanda Diamond League season from my home office. This will be no different. Presenters have to bring the energy because of the lack of a live audience, and make sure that we keep it short and sweet so that we don't lose the virtual audience.
 Q: What was your favourite moment of the 2012 edition when the athletes of the year were Allyson Felix and Usain Bolt?
A: Allyson and Usain had won lots of awards at that point already. Allyson getting that elusive Olympic individual gold was awesome. Bolt was so excited for his coach, and so was I. I think seeing Coach Glen Mills get his award stands out in my memory because he was finally receiving his honours for delivering not just one but the two fastest men of all time from his camp.
 Q: How excited are you to host the Awards with Sanya? Tell us a little more about your television relationship.
A: Sanya joined the NBC booth in 2016, literally days after retiring. Sanya and I have known each other for a long time. She's more like a younger sister than a work colleague. It feels very natural to broadcast with her, because we have already done World Championships and Olympics broadcasts together.
 Q: 2020 has been very special, what was your highlight of the year on and off the track?
A: On the track, it was seeing Norway's Karsten Warholm put together the amazing season he did, despite the obvious challenges. Off the track, it was definitely seeing the people around the world protesting in the streets for causes they believed in.
 Q: Which of the awards to be revealed on 5 December are you most looking forward to this year?&nbsp;
A: Coach of the Year I think will be the most special. I'm biased as a coach, but I know how many different jobs coaches have to do, besides just coaching, to get someone to the top of the podium. 
World Athletics

World Athletics is delighted to announce that legendary sprint stars Sanya Richards-Ross and Ato Boldon will host the World Athletics Awards 2020, to be staged as a virtual event on Saturday 5 December.

Richards-Ross and Boldon to host World Athletics Awards 2020

Legendary sprint stars Sanya Richards-Ross and Ato Boldon will host the virtual event on 5 December

Japan&rsquo;s Eiki Takahashi took almost half a minute off the world best for the 10,000m race walk at the Juntendo University Long Distance meeting in Inzai on Saturday (14), winning in 37:25.21.
In a high-quality and competitive race, Takahashi managed to hold off a strong challenge from 2018 World Race Walking Team Championships 20km winner Koki Ikeda, who finished second in 37:25.90. Just three weeks ago on the same track, Ikeda had clocked a Japanese 5000m race walk record of 18:20.14 &ndash; the fastest time in the world for 12 years.
Yuta Koga, the World University Games bronze medallist, was third in 37:35.00. All three men finished well inside the previous world best, set 12 years ago by 2004 Olympic silver medallist Francisco Javier Fernandez of Spain.
Before today, just three men had bettered 38 minutes for the 10,000m race walk. That number has now been doubled.
The fourth-place finisher, 20-year-old Ryo Hamanishi, clocked 38:23.95 to move into the top 20 on the world all-time list.
Takahashi had set Asian records for the 10,000m race walk in 2014 and 2015 but both were relatively short-lived, as was his 1:18:03 Japanese record for the 20km race walk in 2015. He sharpened up for today&rsquo;s race by clocking 18:51.25 over 5000m in September; his last race before that was a third-place finish at the Japanese 20km Championships in Kobe back in March when he clocked 1:19:53 to put himself in contention for a place on the Olympic team.
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<a href="https://t.co/cQcZcoUhr8">pic.twitter.com/cQcZcoUhr8</a>
&mdash; 松永大介 (@matsunaga0324) <a href="https://twitter.com/matsunaga0324/status/1327524264761729026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Japan’s Eiki Takahashi took almost half a minute off the world best for the 10,000m race walk at the Juntendo University Long Distance meeting in Inzai on Saturday (14), winning in 37:25.21.

Takahashi smashes world best for 10,000m race walk

A year to the day since the first Gender Leadership Moderators Seminar was held, many of the sport&rsquo;s most prominent figures and prospective leaders came together online on Wednesday (18) for the World Athletics Global Conference: Inspiring Women Leaders in Athletics.
The Gender Leadership Programme undertaken by World Athletics has helped women from around the world prepare for leadership roles within national, area and global federations, with the ambition of creating a level playing field at the decision-making levels of the sport.
There have already been tangible outcomes at a global level. More women ran for Council &ndash; and were elected &ndash; in 2019 than ever before. Ximena Restrepo became World Athletics&rsquo; first female Vice President, and female representation among area and national federations is greater than it has ever been.
Last year&rsquo;s Gender Leadership Moderators Seminar and this week&rsquo;s global conference will ensure the positive momentum continues as the sport aims to achieve its longer-term targets of 40% female representation on the Council in 2023 and 50% representation in 2027.
Almost 300 attendees from across all six continental areas logged on to the global conference. Along with talks from four keynote speakers, there were also break-out sessions and panel discussions.
British sprinter Donna Fraser &ndash; who works as the Equality, Diversity and Engagement Lead and Domestic Athletics Operations Manager for UK Athletics &ndash; recalled her positive experience of last year&rsquo;s seminar.
&ldquo;When I walked into the room in Monaco last year, all the same feelings I experienced when I first set foot on a track at the age of 11 came flooding back,&rdquo; said Fraser. &ldquo;I met other like-minded women, women who looked like me, women who had the same passion for our sport and the same aspirations to progress in their careers. It just felt like being home. I now call them my &lsquo;sisterhood&rsquo;; they&rsquo;re my extended family and they&rsquo;re amazing individuals.&rdquo;
Singapore&rsquo;s Jaya Mylvaganam, a member of World Athletics&rsquo; Gender Leadership Taskforce, explained how her resilience led to her becoming the first female international starter in Asia.
&ldquo;Platforms such as this Gender Leadership Taskforce are avenues for us as women officials to connect, support and empower each other,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Our journeys may not be easy but we need to constantly look forward, driven and fuelled by our passion for the sport. We need to showcase our abilities. We need to make our presence felt. We need to be officiating at various fields of play and hold high performance roles.&rdquo;
Donna Raynor, President of the Bermuda National Athletics Association, said that becoming chairperson of the NACAC Gender Leadership Working Group brought out a passion that she didn&rsquo;t realise she had.
&ldquo;Women must have a voice, they must be heard, they must stand strong and it is our obligation to make sure we provide them with the opportunity and the environment to prepare for leadership positions,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We must show leadership and lead the way.&rdquo;
World Athletics Vice President Restrepo offered some words of wisdom to any other women looking to take on a leadership role in athletics.
&ldquo;My advice would be to surround yourself with good people, and not to be worried or scared of people you may think are better than you,&rdquo; said the 1992 Olympic 400m bronze medallist. &ldquo;A good support network can help you become a leader. It's a hard journey and nothing in life is free. Just work hard day after day and in the morning think to yourself, 'today I'm going to be a better version of myself'. And that's how we'll advance.&rdquo;
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, CEO Jon Ridgeon and Council Member Beatrice Ayikoru also joined the conference. They were unanimous in their support and advocacy of the work being done by the Gender Leadership Taskforce.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s important our sport reflects the world in which we live,&rdquo; said Coe. &ldquo;We have parity on the field of play and we also need this off the track. Balanced boards simply make better decisions, and initiatives such as this conference are critically important in helping us to achieve our equity goal.&rdquo;
World Athletics

A year to the day since the first Gender Leadership Moderators Seminar was held, many of  the sport’s most prominent figures and prospective leaders came together online on Wednesday (18) for the World Athletics Global Conference: Inspiring Women Leaders in Athletics.

World Athletics Gender Leadership Programme gathers momentum

Many of  the sport’s most prominent figures joined the Inspiring Women Leaders in Athletics global conference

Spanish athletics can trace its origins back to the late 1860s, when gymnastics clubs often organised athletics competitions as part of their activities. In the first two decades of the 20th century, a number of regional federations were formed and championships held. Consequently, it was a logical step that on 27 March 1920, after the fifth edition of the Spanish Cross Country Championships held earlier in the day, what is now the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation was founded in Bilbao.
The timing was appropriate as the Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games were being held later in the year and it provided an appropriate opportunity for Spanish athletes to get their first taste of formal international action, although Baron de Coubertin had been urging his contacts in Spain for years to send competitors again to the Olympics after several sports &ndash; although not athletics &ndash; had been represented in Paris 20 years before.
Fourteen athletes were sent to Antwerp and despite the contingent returning home without anyone making a final it whetted the appetite for international competition.
Spain&rsquo;s first international match took place in 1925 against neighbours Portugal, from 1929 Spanish runners contested the International Cross Country Championships, and in 1950 Spain competed in the European Athletic Championships for the first time.
<h3>Distance tradition takes root in the 1970s</h3>
Nevertheless, results were relatively modest until the 1960s.
The first Spanish athlete of international distinction was arguably the long and triple jumper Luis Felipe Areta, who won both disciplines in the 1963 Mediterranean Games and then finished sixth in the latter event at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games.
&nbsp;
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Jesus Angel Garcia wins the 2006 European 50km race walk silver medal</div>
&nbsp;
In the 1970s, Spanish long distance runners started to make their mark, notably Mariano Haro and Carmen Valero.
Haro had first come to attention when he finished third in the 1961 International Cross Country Championships junior race and went on to dominate domestic distance running during the following decade. However, his best performances were to come after he turned 30.
He finished second in the 1972 International Cross Country Championships and then just missed out on becoming the first Spanish athlete to win an Olympic medal when he finished fourth in the epic 1972 10,000m final in Munich, before going on to win the silver medal at each of the first three official IAAF World Cross Country Championships from 1973-75.
However, Valero succeeded where Haro had just fallen short and after finishing 25th, ninth and third at the previous three championships, won at the 1976 World Cross Country Championships and then defended her crown 12 months later.
<h3>Llopart collects first Olympic athletics medal</h3>
A Spanish athlete finally stepped on the Olympic podium 60 years after the country&rsquo;s first participation in the sport when Jorge Llopart took the 50km race walk silver medal at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.
The 1980s were to be a transformational decade for Spanish athletics, not least in race walking.
Along with Llopart, the versatile Jose Marin also provided the foundations for Spain&rsquo;s burgeoning role as a walking superpower.
Marin won the 1982 European 20km title &ndash; and also took the 50km silver in Athens &ndash; and then finished second in the longer event at the inaugural World Athletics Championships in 1983 before getting a bronze over 20km four years later in Rome.
&nbsp;
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Spanish middle-distance runner Jose Abascal</div>
&nbsp;
In this era, the 16-year-old Marin-coached Mari Cruz Diaz won the inaugural 10km race walk at the 1986 European Athletics Championships.
Middle distance stars Jose Abascal, who got the bronze behind the current World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and fellow Briton Steve Cram in the memorable 1984 Olympic 1500m final, and 1987 World Athletics Championships 1500m silver medallist Jose Luis Gonzalez also challenged the best in their area of expertise.
<h3>Cacho&rsquo;s home stage heroics in 1992</h3>
In October 1986, Barcelona won the right to stage the 1992 Olympic Games and this proved the stimulus for a huge investment in sport by both the public and private sector in the hope that Spain would surpass itself in terms of medals on a home stage.
&nbsp;
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<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/a8e427e2-6ae6-4071-b3c8-867a5caa8cac.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Fermin Cacho wins the 1992 Olympic 1500m title</div>
&nbsp;
This certainly proved true in athletics. Barcelona is most closely associated with Fermin Cacho&rsquo;s stunning 1500m triumph &ndash; a victory that many still consider to be the most memorable moment in Spanish Olympic or athletics history &ndash; but the accolade of being Spain&rsquo;s first Olympic athletics gold medallist actually belongs to 20km race walker Daniel Plaza who triumphed eight days earlier on the opening day of the athletics programme.
Cacho was to go on to further glories even if they never quite matched his Olympic win.
He won the 1994 European 1500m title, took the Olympic silver medal in the defence of his title in 1996 and finished second in the 1993 and 1997 World Athletics Championships 1500m finals. Cacho also set a European 1500m record of 3:28.95 in 1997 that remained the continental standard until Mo Farah broke it in 2013.
Following in the footsteps of Plaza&rsquo;s success in Barcelona, Spaniards took both the gold medals in the 1993 World Athletics Championships men&rsquo;s race walks with Valenti Massana and Jesus Angel Garcia taking the 20km and 50km titles respectively, the country&rsquo;s first gold medals on this particular global stage, with Plaza also getting the bronze in the shorter race.
<h3>Marathoners begin to make their mark</h3>
In the second half of the 1990s it was the turn of Spanish marathon runners to make their mark with Martin Fiz securing the 1995 World Athletics Championships gold and then being part of a memorable duel in 1997 with his compatriot Abel Anton, which saw the latter prevail in Athens by just five seconds.
Anton then went on to retain his world title in sweltering conditions in front of his family and friends in Seville two years later while long jumper Niurka Montalvo provided Spain with what remains to this day their only women&rsquo;s victory at the World Athletics Championships.
&nbsp;
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Niurka Montalvo in action at the 1999 World Championships</div>
&nbsp;
At the start of the 21st century, the popular shot putter Manuel Martinez did much to show that Spanish athletes could aspire to success beyond endurance events.
In an international career that lasted almost two decades, Martinez progressed from being the 1993 European U20 champion to taking world and European indoor titles as well as a 2004 Olympic bronze medal although, surprisingly to many, he never climbed on the podium during a record eight shot put appearances at the World Athletics Championships.
<h3>Beitia triumphs in Rio</h3>
Turn the clock forward to recent times when in 2016, Ruth Beitia followed up her three successive European high jump wins from 2012 to 2016 by finally winning on the global stage when she took the Olympic title in her event in Rio de Janeiro. Her triumph as the first Spanish female athlete to win Olympic gold made her a household name in Spain.
&nbsp;
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Ruth Beitia celebrates her high jump victory at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games</div>
&nbsp;
Looking ahead to the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games next summer and then the Oregon 2022 World Athletics Championships as well as Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, Spain has high expectations of being among the medals again.
Rio 2016 110m hurdles silver medallist and Doha 2019 bronze medallist Orlando Ortega should still be among the men entering medal consideration. Meanwhile, race walking continues to be a strength with Spain able to boast of the likes of 2015 world 20km winner Miguel Angel Lopez as well as 2018 European 20km champions Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez.
Phil Minshull for World Athletics

Spanish athletics can trace its origins back to the late 1860s, when gymnastics clubs often organised athletics competitions as part of their activities. In the first two decades of the 20th century, a number of regional federations were formed and championships held. Consequently, it was a logical step that on 27 March 1920, after the fifth edition of the Spanish Cross Country Championships held earlier in the day, what is now the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation was founded in Bilbao.

A royal celebration – 100 years of the Spanish federation

<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
In the sport of track and field, Team USA is widely recognized as the world&rsquo;s number one team. At the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, the U.S. took home 29 medals &ndash; 14 gold, 11 silver, and four bronze &ndash; to top the global medal count. Team Jamaica was second with 12 medals. Just imagine what Team USA will be able to achieve in 2022&hellip; when the World Championships are contested on U.S. soil, in front of a home crowd, for the first time ever!
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Team USA | World Athletics Championships Oregon 22

TEAM USA COMPETES ON HOME SOIL IN 2022

<h2>Hayward Field at The University of Oregon</h2>
October 2020 saw the global unveiling of the incredible Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, site of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
With sweeping architecture, bold colors, and a striking modern design set within the tranquil natural beauty of the City of Eugene, Hayward Field is a world-class theater tailor-made for one purpose: experiencing and elevating the sport of track and field. This facility has athletes and fans at its very heart.
The front row of seats comes right next to the outside lane of the track, so crowds will feel the sprinters and hurdlers racing past them. This creates an electric atmosphere, connecting athletes to the crowd in an intimate setting unlike any other.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/5fb51bd5f65a163112d6be7c.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
The seats themselves are wide, with plush, comfortable seatbacks. The bowl was designed to optimize the sightlines of every single seat and to amplify the cheers of the crowd within the stadium. With two permanent video boards, not a single moment of glorious action will be missed.
While the fans are enjoying those amenities, athletes will be preparing for competition inside the stands themselves, with indoor warmup and training facilities. Track surface is abundant throughout the venue, a constant reminder that Hayward Field is a permanent home to track and field athletes.
The wooden, rib-like bents that support the translucent roof and wrap the stadium are glorious symbols of the lush forests of Oregon. These shapes were the inspiration behind the WCH Oregon22 logo.
The magic of this place has captivated the world for decades, and it will continue to capture our imagination for decades to come. It is a place where local, national, and global communities come together to celebrate the sport of track and field. There is no doubt that Hayward Field is one of the greatest athletics facilities ever built and that it will be a spectacular setting as Oregon welcomes the world on July 15&ndash;24, 2022.
Click <a href="https://hayward.uoregon.edu/hayward-field-unboxing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> for more on Hayward Field&rsquo;s &ldquo;unboxing&rdquo;!

The re-imagined Hayward field | World Athletics Championships Oregon 22

HAYWARD FIELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

*** La version fran&ccedil;aise ci-dessous/ French version below *** 
Godwin Adongo loves to run. At eight years old, she finds athletics shows more interesting than cartoons and watches the Diamond League for fun. On Saturdays and Sundays, she hits dirt tracks in the Ugandan city of Lira for one-hour drills, honing her skills as a runner.
&ldquo;I started running when I was three year old,&rsquo; says Adongo. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s when I first went to school.&rdquo;
In 2018, she stunned crowds by her seemingly effortless conquering of the 1500m and 3000m events during the national school championships in Uganda. Her obvious gifts earned her the privilege of a dedicated group of professionals consisting of three coaches and a personal doctor, to monitor her progress.
&ldquo;Godwin has a God-given talent,&rdquo; says her father Patrick Okodi proudly. &ldquo;When she joined primary one, she started to participate in school competitions and I noticed then that she had aptitude.&rdquo;
It was quite easy for Okodi to pick up on her gifts as he might have been an athlete himself, had he shown a propensity for the sport. After all, his father was John Akii Bua, the Ugandan legend whose record-breaking run to gold in the 400m hurdles in the 1972 Olympic Games made him a national hero. However, his gift seemed to have skipped a generation.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/5fb3a5ac0d5e3dff9aa2bdeb.jpg" alt="" width="75%" />
&ldquo;Akii Bua was a loving father and he used to train us, his children, but we were not talented in athletics,&rdquo; says Okodi.
Decades after his passing, Akii Bua remains a celebrated figure in Uganda. His family treasures his memory and legacy. Adongo is growing up with stories about her legendary grandfather and they are already inspiring her.
She also follows Kenya&rsquo;s Hellen Obiri and Genzebe Dibaba from Ethiopia and hopes she can meet them one day.
&ldquo;I want so much to talk to my role models Genzebe Dibaba and Hellen Obiri, I need their advice.&rdquo;
<h3>Thousands of miles away in England&hellip; </h3>
Eleven-year-old Eva Barton is shaping her path into athletics. She has won at least 20 races since 2018, setting some of the fastest road mile &amp; track mile times for her age group. She has competed in sprints and long-distance races but is now showing a liking for middle distance.
&ldquo;Laura Muir is my idol,&rdquo; says Barton. &ldquo;I was lucky enough to see her break the indoor 1 mile record last year at Birmingham, it was at that point I decided middle distance was going to be my focus.&rdquo;
This year began with Barton ready to continue down that road but when the coronavirus hit the UK hard in March, the competitions stopped. As the break lengthened, she began to outgrow her kits.
&ldquo;I had several pairs of spikes that were virtually unused due to Covid19 lockdown,&rdquo; says Barton, &ldquo;so I decided to advertise them on social media.&rdquo;
In Uganda, Okodi saw the ad on Facebook. He replied with a picture of him and his daughter, alongside the comment, &ldquo;help the young girl with the spike, she does not have one.&rdquo;
&ldquo;When I saw pictures of Godwin training in Uganda, I realised I&rsquo;m lucky enough to have every bit of kit I need to train &amp; compete,&rdquo; says Barton.
She was moved to help and asked about Adongo&rsquo;s shoe size. Unfortunately, the running shoes were too big for Adongo but Barton thought of something else.
&ldquo;I get to go all over the UK to race in great venues, but it&rsquo;s not the same for her. She trains so hard and has become a regional champion and deserves the same chances as I get.
&ldquo;So I decided to save my pocket money to buy Godwin some new shoes and running kit.&rdquo;
On Facebook, she put pictures of herself and 8-year-old Abongo side-by-side and asked, &ldquo;What's the difference? It should be none, we should both be able to dream of being champions.&rdquo;
The response went far beyond Barton&rsquo;s expectations.
&ldquo;When I posted what I was doing on social media tens of thousands of people all over the world saw it, several companies and schools from the UK made small kit donations &ndash; and a few people even donated money, too.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/5fb3a6ca2546e48f7faac7ff.jpg" alt="" width="75%" />
&ldquo;British Athletics saw my article and also donated some team kit for her to wear. I haven&rsquo;t raised a lot of money but so far I&rsquo;ve been able to raise enough to buy her some new trainers and a set of running kit like mine so we can match and my sponsor Enertor provided some specialist insoles, socks and clothing.&rdquo;
Abongo and her family were overwhelmed with gratitude.
&ldquo;I feel like she was God-sent,&rdquo; says Abongo.
<h3>Helping &ldquo;as many girls as I can&rdquo; </h3>
The response to her social media campaign has given Barton and her family a desire to reach out to other athletes from difficult backgrounds.
&ldquo;I think there are great young girls running all over the world and they all deserve a chance of training to becoming world champions. Having access to the basics like running shoes shouldn&rsquo;t hold any of us back. I&rsquo;d like to be able to help as many girls like me as I can,&rdquo; says Barton.
Barton&rsquo;s father, Scott, is very supportive of his daughter&rsquo;s idea and says it could be the springboard for a platform to reach out to other young girls who need support.
&ldquo;With all the support Eva has had on social media she has an idea of creating some kind of sponsorship or foundation and being the spokesperson for helping raise funds and helping young female athletes all over the world.&rdquo;
Meanwhile, there is a budding friendship between the two girls.
&ldquo;I normally talk to Eva when our parents are chatting on Facebook,&rdquo; says Adongo.
&ldquo;We mostly swap messages and pictures via our parents about the races we are in and the training we are doing,&rdquo; Barton adds. &ldquo;I get to train on stadium tracks and Godwin trains on dirt tracks and in the countryside, it&rsquo;s very different. But we are aiming for the same thing.&rdquo;
They both have the support of their parents.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m extremely proud of Eva and her attempts to help others,&rdquo; her father says. &ldquo;I think we could all learn something from her. In the highly competitive field of athletics - to see her helping others is inspirational.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I feel so good for both Eva and Godwin, and I believe that one day they will meet in a big event,&rdquo; says Okodi.
The girls share dreams of dominating the tracks some day. Adongo wants to live up to her grandfather Akii Bua&rsquo;s name, and sees herself as a &ldquo;great athlete and a doctor&rdquo; in future.
Barton wants to break records.
&ldquo;One day I&rsquo;d like to take Laura Muir&rsquo;s mile record and compete around the world representing Great Britain, hopefully with Godwin in the same events.&rdquo;
Helen Ngoh for World Athletics
Note: for information on how to help with Barton's efforts, contact <a href="mailto:scott.barton@unity.online">Scott Barton via email</a>.
&nbsp;
<h1>Godwin Adongo et Eva Barton : comment les r&eacute;seaux sociaux ont r&eacute;uni deux athl&egrave;tes prometteuses</h1>
 Godwin Adongo adore courir. &Agrave; huit ans, elle trouve les rencontres d&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme plus int&eacute;ressantes que les dessins anim&eacute;s et regarde la Ligue de diamant pour s&rsquo;amuser. Les samedis et dimanches, elle fait des exercices d&rsquo;une heure sur des pistes de terre battue dans la ville ougandaise de Lira, ce qui lui permet de perfectionner ses aptitudes de coureuse.
&laquo;&thinsp;J&rsquo;ai commenc&eacute; &agrave; courir &agrave; l&rsquo;&acirc;ge de trois ans&thinsp;&raquo;, a d&eacute;clar&eacute; Godwin. &laquo;&thinsp;C&rsquo;est &agrave; ce moment-l&agrave; que je suis all&eacute;e &agrave; l&rsquo;&eacute;cole pour la premi&egrave;re fois.&thinsp;&raquo;
En 2018, elle &eacute;poustoufla beaucoup de monde par ses performances, en apparence sans effort, lors du 1500m et du 3000m des championnats scolaires nationaux en Ouganda. Ses ind&eacute;niables qualit&eacute;s de coureuse lui valurent le privil&egrave;ge d&rsquo;&ecirc;tre suivie par un groupe de professionnels d&eacute;vou&eacute;s, compos&eacute; de trois entra&icirc;neurs et d&rsquo;un m&eacute;decin personnel.
&laquo;&thinsp;Le talent de Godwin est un don de Dieu&thinsp;&raquo;, a d&eacute;clar&eacute; fi&egrave;rement son p&egrave;re Patrick Okodi. &laquo;&thinsp;Lorsqu&rsquo;elle est entr&eacute;e en primaire, elle a commenc&eacute; &agrave; participer &agrave; des comp&eacute;titions scolaires et j&rsquo;ai alors remarqu&eacute; qu&rsquo;elle avait de grandes capacit&eacute;s.&thinsp;&raquo;
Patrick Okodi conna&icirc;t bien le sujet, car il aurait pu lui-m&ecirc;me &ecirc;tre un athl&egrave;te, s&rsquo;il avait montr&eacute; une pr&eacute;disposition pour ce sport. Apr&egrave;s tout, son p&egrave;re &eacute;tait John Akii-Bua, la l&eacute;gende ougandaise dont la course record vers l&rsquo;or sur 400m haies aux Jeux olympiques de 1972 a fait de lui un h&eacute;ros national. Pourtant, il semblerait que le don de John Akii-Bua ait saut&eacute; une g&eacute;n&eacute;ration.
&laquo;&thinsp;John Akii Bua &eacute;tait un p&egrave;re aimant. Il nous entra&icirc;nait, nous, ses enfants, mais nous n&rsquo;&eacute;tions pas dou&eacute;s pour l&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme&thinsp;&raquo;, a d&eacute;clar&eacute; Patrick Okodi.
Des d&eacute;cennies apr&egrave;s sa mort, Akii-Bua reste une figure c&eacute;l&egrave;bre en Ouganda. Sa famille ch&eacute;rit sa m&eacute;moire et son h&eacute;ritage. Godwin grandit avec des histoires sur la l&eacute;gende de son grand-p&egrave;re, des histoires qui l&rsquo;inspirent d&eacute;j&agrave;.
Elle suit &eacute;galement la K&eacute;nyane Hellen Obiri et l&rsquo;&Eacute;thiopienne Genzebe Dibaba avec l&rsquo;espoir de les rencontrer un jour.
&laquo;&thinsp;J&rsquo;ai tellement envie de parler &agrave; mes mod&egrave;les Genzebe Dibaba et Hellen Obiri, j&rsquo;ai besoin de leurs conseils.&thinsp;&raquo;
<h3>&Agrave; des milliers de kilom&egrave;tres de l&agrave;, en Angleterre... </h3>
Eva Barton, onze ans, se fraie un chemin dans le monde de l&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme. Elle a remport&eacute; au moins 20 courses depuis 2018, &eacute;tablissant des temps parmi les plus rapides dans sa cat&eacute;gorie d&rsquo;&acirc;ge au mile sur route et sur piste. Elle a particip&eacute; &agrave; des sprints et &agrave; des courses de fond, mais d&eacute;sormais c&rsquo;est le demi-fond qu&rsquo;elle affectionne.
&laquo;&thinsp;Laura Muir est mon idole&thinsp;&raquo;, a d&eacute;clar&eacute; Eva. &laquo;&thinsp;J&rsquo;ai eu la chance de la voir battre le record du mile en salle l&rsquo;ann&eacute;e derni&egrave;re &agrave; Birmingham, c&rsquo;est &agrave; ce moment que j&rsquo;ai d&eacute;cid&eacute; de me concentrer sur le demi-fond.&thinsp;&raquo;
Cette ann&eacute;e, Eva &eacute;tait pr&ecirc;te &agrave; poursuivre cette voie, mais, en mars, le coronavirus frappa durement le Royaume-Uni ce qui entra&icirc;na l&rsquo;arr&ecirc;t des comp&eacute;titions. La jeune fille grandit et certains de ses v&ecirc;tements cess&egrave;rent d&rsquo;&ecirc;tre &agrave; sa taille.
&laquo;&thinsp;J&rsquo;avais plusieurs paires de chaussures &agrave; pointes pratiquement inutilis&eacute;es en raison du confinement. J&rsquo;ai alors d&eacute;cid&eacute; de publier une annonce sur les r&eacute;seaux sociaux.&thinsp;&raquo;
En Ouganda, Patrick Okodi vit la publication sur Facebook. Il r&eacute;pondit avec une photo de lui et de sa fille, en plus du commentaire &laquo;&thinsp;Help the young girl with the spike, she does not have one (Aidez cette jeune fille qui n&rsquo;a pas de chaussures &agrave; pointes) &raquo;.
&laquo;&thinsp;Quand j&rsquo;ai vu les photos de Godwin s&rsquo;entra&icirc;nant en Ouganda, j&rsquo;ai r&eacute;alis&eacute; que j&rsquo;avais la chance d&rsquo;avoir tout le mat&eacute;riel n&eacute;cessaire pour m&rsquo;entra&icirc;ner et participer &agrave; des comp&eacute;titions&thinsp;&raquo;, a d&eacute;clar&eacute; Eva.
D&eacute;termin&eacute;e &agrave; l&rsquo;aider, Eva demanda la pointure de Godwin. Malheureusement, les chaussures de course &eacute;taient trop grandes pour Godwin, mais Eva eut une autre id&eacute;e.
&laquo;&thinsp;J&rsquo;ai la chance d&rsquo;aller partout au Royaume-Uni pour faire des courses dans des endroits superbes, mais ce n&rsquo;est pas la m&ecirc;me chose pour elle. Elle s&rsquo;entra&icirc;ne tellement dur qu&rsquo;elle est devenue championne r&eacute;gionale et m&eacute;rite les m&ecirc;mes chances que moi. &raquo;
&laquo;&thinsp;J&rsquo;ai donc d&eacute;cid&eacute; d&rsquo;&eacute;conomiser mon argent de poche pour acheter &agrave; Godwin de nouvelles chaussures et une tenue de course.&thinsp;&raquo;
Sur Facebook, elle posta c&ocirc;te &agrave; c&ocirc;te une photo d&rsquo;elle et une de Godwin, &agrave; l&rsquo;&acirc;ge de 8 ans, avec le commentaire : &laquo;&thinsp;Quelle est la diff&eacute;rence&thinsp;? Il ne devrait y en avoir aucune. Nous devrions toutes les deux pouvoir r&ecirc;ver d&rsquo;&ecirc;tre championnes.&thinsp;&raquo;
La r&eacute;ponse a largement d&eacute;pass&eacute; les attentes d&rsquo;Eva.
&laquo;&thinsp;Lorsque j&rsquo;ai post&eacute; cette publication sur les r&eacute;seaux sociaux, des dizaines de milliers de personnes dans le monde entier l&rsquo;ont vue. Plusieurs entreprises et &eacute;coles du Royaume-Uni ont fait des dons de tenues de sport pour enfant et quelques personnes ont m&ecirc;me donn&eacute; aussi de l&rsquo;argent.
British Athletics a vu mon article et lui a &eacute;galement fait don d&rsquo;une tenue d&rsquo;&eacute;quipe. Je n&rsquo;ai pas r&eacute;colt&eacute; beaucoup d&rsquo;argent, mais jusqu&rsquo;&agrave; pr&eacute;sent, j&rsquo;ai pu en r&eacute;colter suffisamment pour lui acheter de nouvelles baskets et une tenue de course compl&egrave;te comme la mienne, pour pouvoir &ecirc;tre assorties. Mon sponsor Enertor a fourni des semelles sp&eacute;cialis&eacute;es, des chaussettes et des v&ecirc;tements.&thinsp;&raquo;
Godwin et sa famille se sont montr&eacute;s tr&egrave;s reconnaissants.
&laquo;&thinsp;J&rsquo;ai l&rsquo;impression qu&rsquo;elle a &eacute;t&eacute; envoy&eacute;e par Dieu&thinsp;&raquo;, a d&eacute;clar&eacute; Godwin.
<h3>Aider &laquo;&thinsp;autant de filles que possible&thinsp;&raquo; </h3>
La r&eacute;action &agrave; sa campagne sur les r&eacute;seaux sociaux a donn&eacute; &agrave; Eva et &agrave; sa famille l&rsquo;envie de venir en aide &agrave; d&rsquo;autres athl&egrave;tes issues de milieux difficiles.
&laquo;&thinsp;Je pense qu&rsquo;il y a des jeunes filles formidables qui courent partout dans le monde et elles m&eacute;ritent toutes une chance de s&rsquo;entra&icirc;ner pour devenir championnes du monde. L&rsquo;acc&egrave;s &agrave; des articles de base comme les chaussures de course ne devrait retenir aucun d&rsquo;entre nous. J&rsquo;aimerais pouvoir aider le plus grand nombre possible de filles comme moi&thinsp;&raquo;, a d&eacute;clar&eacute; Eva.
Scott, le p&egrave;re d&rsquo;Eva, est tr&egrave;s favorable &agrave; l&rsquo;id&eacute;e de sa fille et reconna&icirc;t que cela pourrait &ecirc;tre un tremplin pour aller &agrave; la rencontre d&rsquo;autres jeunes filles qui ont besoin de soutien.
&laquo;&thinsp;Avec tout le soutien qu&rsquo;Eva a re&ccedil;u sur les r&eacute;seaux sociaux, elle a eu l&rsquo;id&eacute;e de cr&eacute;er une sorte de parrainage ou de fondation et d&rsquo;en &ecirc;tre la porte-parole pour collecter des fonds et aider les jeunes athl&egrave;tes f&eacute;minines du monde entier&thinsp;&raquo;.
Pendant ce temps, une amiti&eacute; est en train de na&icirc;tre entre les deux filles.
&laquo;&thinsp;D&rsquo;habitude, je parle &agrave; Eva quand nos parents discutent sur Facebook&thinsp;&raquo;, dit Godwin.
&laquo;&thinsp;Nous &eacute;changeons surtout des messages et des photos via nos parents sur les courses auxquelles nous participons et les entra&icirc;nements que nous faisons&thinsp;&raquo;, ajoute Eva. &laquo;&thinsp;Je m&rsquo;entra&icirc;ne sur les pistes du stade et Godwin s&rsquo;entra&icirc;ne sur des pistes en terre et &agrave; la campagne. C&rsquo;est tr&egrave;s diff&eacute;rent, mais nous visons la m&ecirc;me chose.&thinsp;&raquo;
Les deux jeunes filles peuvent compter sur le soutien de leurs parents.
&laquo;&thinsp;Je suis extr&ecirc;mement fier d&rsquo;Eva et de ses efforts pour aider les autres&thinsp;&raquo;, a d&eacute;clar&eacute; son p&egrave;re. &laquo;&thinsp;Je pense que nous avons tous quelque chose &agrave; apprendre d&rsquo;elle. Dans le domaine tr&egrave;s comp&eacute;titif de l&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme, la voir aider les autres est une source d&rsquo;inspiration.&thinsp;&raquo;
&laquo;&thinsp;Je me sens tellement bien pour Eva et Godwin, et je sais qu&rsquo;un jour elles se rencontreront lors d&rsquo;une grande comp&eacute;tition&thinsp;&raquo;, a d&eacute;clar&eacute; Patrick Okodi.
Les deux filles partagent le r&ecirc;ve de dominer un jour les pistes.
Godwin veut se hisser &agrave; la hauteur de son grand-p&egrave;re John Akii-Bua et se voit plus tard devenir &laquo;&thinsp;une grande athl&egrave;te et un m&eacute;decin&thinsp;&raquo;.
Eva veut battre des records. &laquo;&thinsp;Un jour, j&rsquo;aimerais ravir &agrave; Laura Muir son record du mile et repr&eacute;senter la Grande-Bretagne &agrave; travers le monde, avec, je l&rsquo;esp&egrave;re, Godwin dans les m&ecirc;mes &eacute;preuves.&thinsp;&raquo;
Helen Ngoh pour World Athletics
NB: Pour savoir comment vous pouvez aider Barton, vous pouvez contacter <a href="mailto:scott.barton@unity.online">Scott Barton par email</a>.

Godwin Adongo and Eva Barton: How social media brought together two promising athletes

Godwin Adongo loves to run. At eight years old, she finds athletics shows more interesting than cartoons and watches the Diamond League for fun. On Saturdays and Sundays, she hits dirt tracks in the Ugandan city of Lira for one-hour drills, honing her skills as a runner.

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