IAAF eschews bidding process and makes Eugene first American host of the event.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Months after a failed bid, Eugene was awarded the 2021 track and field World Championships.
The IAAF eschewed the bidding process to make Eugene the first American city to host the event.
From the Associated Press:
It says the financial support offered by the governor of Oregon and the United States Olympic Committee, as well as NBC’s commitment to produce and broadcast the event, led to the decision. … Eugene’s bid last November to host the 2019 world championships was not successful. But the city renewed its lobbying for the 2021 edition over recent months with a fresh proposal to the IAAF.
“In granting the championships to Eugene, the IAAF Council have made a clear choice on a strategic decision that enables us to take advantage of a unique opportunity that may never arise again,” IAAF President Lamine Diack said in a statement.
“I thank President Diack, the Council and USATF president Stephanie Hightower and CEO Max Siegel in supporting the bid,” TrackTown USA President Vin Lananna said in a prepared statement. “We promise to deliver an outstanding championships for the sport of track and field in America and around the world.”
The president of the European Athletics Federation slammed the decision, saying the IAAF exhibited a “complete lack of process.”
OregonLive.com writes:
The 2021 World Championships will be held at a renovated Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. The decision gives Eugene organizers five years to address infrastructure problems that were said to be a determining factor in the the Council’s decision to pick Doha for 2019.
Eugene is small compared to other cities that have hosted the World Outdoor Championships, which are held every other year. This year’s meet will take place in Beijing. The 2017 meet will be in London. The 2013 meet was in Moscow.
Outgoing IAAF president Lamine Diack said in a statement: “In granting the championships to Eugene the IAAF Council have made a clear choice on a strategic decision that enables us to take advantage of a unique opportunity that may never arise again, whereby public authorities, the private sector, the national Olympic Committee, NBC and a particularly enthusiastic public are joining forces.”
