Track Town USA Hosts Duck Athletes for Worlds

2022 has been a big year for track and field Championships in Eugene. The remodeled and updated Hayward Field hosted the Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Championships in May and the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Championships in June. Now comes July, and the meets just keep getting bigger and more impressive. The World Athletics Championships for Track and Field – known as Oregon22 - come to Eugene July 15 – 24 and will welcome elite athletes representing nations from around the world.

Many faces familiar to Duck fans will be at Hayward for this meet seeking the glory of being a world champion. Some of Oregon’s top track and field current competitors and alumni will participate in the Worlds. Here’s a partial list (note: qualifying is by nation, and not all qualifiers had been named at press time. Additional Duck athletes may earn spots).

Cooper Teare – Men’s 1500 Meters – Teare is a recent Oregon competitor, running in distance events. Teare won the 2021 NCAA outdoor 5000-meter run, and he holds the collegiate record in the indoor mile. Teare missed making the 2020 US Olympic team in the 5000 Meters by less than a second, finishing 4th in the Olympic Trials.

Alaysha Johnson – Women’s 100 Hurdles – Johnson won Pac-12 Championships in the 100 Meter Hurdles and as part of the Ducks 4 x 100 Relay team in 2017. She is a 7-time All-American and holds the Oregon record in the 100 Meter Hurdles at 12.69 seconds.

Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Devon Allen – Men’s 110 Hurdles – Allen is a 3-time US National Champion in the 110 Meter Hurdles and competed in both the Rio and Tokyo games in his specialty. Allen competed for both the Oregon Track and Field and football programs, and recently signed to play receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. Allen won 2 NCAA Championships in the hurdles while at Oregon.

Jenna Prandini – Women’s 200 Meters – Prandini won an NCAA Championship in the Long Jump in 2014 and won Pac-12 Championships in the 100 and 200 Meters and the Long Jump that season. She also won the 100 Meters and was part of the 4 x 100 relay champions in the 2013 Pac-12 Championships.

Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Raevyn Rogers – Women’s 800 Meters – Rogers is another Oregon Olympian, having won a Bronze medal at the 2020* Tokyo Olympics in the Women’s 800 Meters, turning in the 4^th fastest time ever recorded for a US woman in that event. Rogers won 6 NCAA Championships while at Oregon, including 3 consecutive 800 Meter Championships. She set the collegiate record in the race, breaking a mark that had previously been set in 1990.

Galen Rupp – Men’s Marathon – Rupp is a 4-time Olympian, having competed for the US in Beijing (2008), London (2012), Rio de Janeiro (2016) and Tokyo (2020). Rupp won a Silver in the 10,000 Meters in London, and a Bronze in the Men’s Marathon in Rio. Rupp competed in both Cross Country and Track for Oregon, helping the team to Conference Championships, breaking indoor and outdoor records and winning 5 individual and 1 relay Championships, 2 NCAA Cross Country National Championships and an indoor track NCAA team title.

Another dozen athletes (at least) slated to compete have ties to the State of Oregon if not the University

ATQ will provide additional details on the Worlds next week.

*Note - The Tokyo Summer Olympic Games were postponed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic and were contested in calendar year 2021.