Eugene KMTR- All eyes on Track Town, U.S.A. this week as national TV and cable networks set up their cameras at Hayward field in Eugene, ready to capture the highlights of the U.S. Track and Field Championships.Beginning Thursday morning and for the next four days, athletes will compete for a shot to land on the U.S. national team. Those athletes will then head to South Korea later this summer to compete in the world championships.
Many local track and field stars have been practicing drilling at Hayward this week. Among them, you'll want to watch for Nick Symmonds and Ashton Eaton. Eaton will compete in the decathlon Thursday. University of Oregon Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna says there will be a lot for local track fans to enjoy.
“They have an opportunity to see at least 24 University of Oregon athletes competing and then about 14 or 15 athletes that are connected to the U. of O. and Eugene community,” said Lananna. “We will begin competition for the 2011 world championship trials and the U.S. team, the number one team in the world, will select its athletes starting on Thursday to compete in South Korea.”
Competition begins Thursday morning with Women’s Discus at 9:45, Men’s 100-meter Hurdles at 10:00 and Women’s 100-meter Hurdles at 10:20.
The action gets underway at 9:00 a.m. Friday and at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
