byLarry Eder
As I walk away from another enthralling Prefontaine Classic at the wonderful Hayward Field, it starts to sink in that yet again I have collected some amazing memories to take away from my visit to Oregon.
Whether it’s Dibaba’s sensational solo run in the 5,000m, Barshim’s 2.41m or that amazingly close women’s 100m that stood out the most, I am undecided, all I know is that I’m struggling to think of anything negatives to take away from the past two days.
Boy am I lucky. Lucky to have the memories, lucky to understand their importance and just generally lucky to be back here in Eugene for the second year in a row.
In my three years as a trainee journalist on the Diamond League tour I have visited almost every venue possible in order to gain a greater understanding for the both the history of track and field and it’s present climate.
While I’ve experienced some incredible nights of athletics over the last three summers, visited some speculator stadiums far greater in size, and seen cities far more prestigious, no place has ever felt as much like home as this quaint town in the North West of America.
Not even the DL finals of Zurich or Brussels or those wonderful summer evenings spent in Monaco can do enough to change my mind.
So why do I love it so much? Quite simply because it has everything.
With the investments of Nike and Mr Phil Knight so much money has gone into making the meet as stacked as possible, meaning this is the one competition outside of the world championships or Olympic Games where you can expect to see almost all of the top athletes in the world.
Alongside the great fields, in my experience you also have; impeccable conditions for racing, stupendous performances, unrivaled amounts of crowd support and interest and one of the greatest sporting atmospheres on earth.
Everywhere you look an Olympic champion is either doing his final stretches, trying to catch a slice of the excitement at the side of the track or just generally giving the crowd something to shout about.
I have seen even the greatest of athletes let there inner track fan out of the woodworks this weekend as he/she joins the other spectators in awe at the incredible feats that are continuously being achieved their sporting counterparts.
The way they roam around freely is just one example of the the level of access we the media are given to these athletes. So as you somehow cross paths in the warm up zone as they do their strides and you eat the free food in the mix-zone you start to believe that your diet is the only real difference between you and these guys.
Where else for example, would I be able to get the chance to interview Mo Farah as I accompany him on his warm down?
However the crowd support is perhaps the most important factor in the creation of Knight’s Frankenstein, whether you are American or not, when you step on that track you will receive a standing ovation and a thunderous roar as you enter the back strait.
They are not just clapping because they heard you might be a fairly good athlete and rather famous one day. They are clapping because they appreciate your talent and are aware of your ability and accolades. They know that you ran a 4:05 1500m in 2008 and that you cried on the podium when you picked up a medal.
That rather than the nice pay check is what makes the athletes return each year, as two of Saturday’s winners Jenny Simpson and Kirani James explained: “The fans were really into it, it gave us a bit more motivation to perform for them to make sure we put on a good race. All in all I’m just happy to be here in Oregon to compete, it’s a very special place a very special track and it’s a blessing to be here.” James said.
“It’s amazing, you walk out and you look up and you think few places can rival the energy of the crowd here, I guess maybe even more so when you’re warming up you hear the energy that you’re getting ready to walk into.” Simpson adds
Whilst I don’t know how either athlete feels about any other venue in the world, I’m sure they feel just as inclined as I do to be back at this wonderful stadium sooner rather than later.
