The Rotary Clubs of the Southern Willamette Valley were well-represented at the 2022 World Athletics Championships (WAC) held in Eugene Oregon at the Mecca for United States Track and Field: Hayward Field at the University or Oregon.
Over 85 Rotarians, predominantly from the Southern Willamette Valley, staffed the Rotary booth located in the WAC Festival that was held along the Willamette River near Hayward Field. The booth was a center of attention at the Festival as visitors stopped by to look at Rotary’s Iron Lung. The Iron Lung displayed by Rotary was actually used as a breathing machine for polio patients. Iron lung wards were prevalent in hospitals predominantly before discovery of the polio vaccine in 1955. In 1985, Rotary began a worldwide polio vaccination effort to eradicate polio. Since then, over 2.5 Billion children have been vaccinated and the occurrence of polio has decreased by over 99% worldwide.
Over the course of the WAC’s 10 days, nearly 150,000 ticketed persons from all 50 United States and 40 countries were treated to unbelievable competition inside Hayward Field and warm hospitality at Hayward and the Festival along the Riverfront. Rotary members passed out over 1000 water bottles in the nine days of the Festival. At the booth Rotary volunteers shared their passion for Rotary and the service projects their clubs do at home and around the world.
At Hayward Field, the athletes delivered again and again, with three world records highlighting the action on the track and in the field. In the end, more than 1,700 athletes from 179 countries (plus the Athlete Refugee Team) competed in Oregon. In terms of performance, this will go down as the most universal edition in the history of the event. A record-breaking 29 countries won gold medals at these Championships, compared with 26 in 2017. Plus, more countries than ever before had athletes reach the finals of their respective events in Oregon. 81 countries achieved the milestone, with Liberia, Niger, Pakistan, Samoa, the Philippines, and Guatemala reaching a final for the first time in World Championships history.
Special thanks are owed to all the volunteers and local organizing committee staff who ensured the smooth delivery of this event. 1,583 volunteers gave their time to help in all areas at WCH Oregon22, proving once again that Eugene, Oregon is indeed Tracktown USA!
