Last week, the IAAF, the world track & field governing body, gathered to select the host city of the 2019 World Championships. The United States has long been the dominant power in the sport of track & field, yet has never hosted the World Championships. In fact, the World Championships have only been held in the Americas once ever, 2001 in Edmonton. But, after hosting a great World Junior Championships earlier this year, the University of Oregon's Hayward Field was selected as a finalist alongside Barcelona (which hosted the 2012 World Juniors) and Doha, Qatar (which finished second to London for the 2017 edition).
Heading into the vote, I, like a lot of other people, assumed it was going to be Barcelona. Europe is where track & field is most popular and most of the IAAF's decision-makers are European, so I figured they'd want to keep their biggest event close to home. (Sidebar: there will be daytime track & field finals during the Rio Olympics. Why? So that they can be live in primetime on European TV. I think it's a great idea. If they can have morning swimming finals in China for U.S. TV, it's only fair to have afternoon track & field finals in Brazil for European TV. That's why the World Cup Final was at 4:00 in the afternoon, after all.)
Anyway, it came as a bit of a surprise when Barcelona finished last in the voting. But really all that showed was the strength of the bids from Eugene and Doha. The long-awaited World Championships in the U.S. will have to wait a little longer, though. Eugene came oh-so-close to pulling out the victory, but Doha added another major event to its resume in that never-ending pursuit to get the Olympics. And suddenly the World Cup is no longer the biggest event coming to Qatar. Because they're getting the World Championships three years earlier.
This is a huge get for Doha. Outside of the Olympics, the track & field World Championships are the largest international sporting event on Earth. And they're THE largest in odd-numbered years.
It's also a chance for the IAAF to take a risk that isn't much of a risk at all. The 2010 World Indoor Championships were in Doha, and they annually host a Diamond League meet in May. As for the schedule, which is always the No. 1 concern when it comes to Doha, they're going to hold the World Championships in October and have the marathon and other long-distance events held late at night. The heat in Doha in October is evidently a lot less oppressive than it is in May for the Diamond League meet, when it isn't that bad, either. It'll cause some headaches for European TV, which will be into the heart of the domestic and Champions League soccer seasons, but the World Championships only last nine days (and the Middle East is several hours ahead of Western Europe), so I think they'll be able to figure it out.
One of the interesting points that I saw made about the Doha World Championships is that by having them in October, they will be the climactic event on the world track & field calendar. This could be both good and bad. It's tough to ask these athletes to peak so late in the year, especially with the Tokyo Olympics taking place only about 10 months later. And for those who compete at U.S. colleges, extending the season an extra two months would be incredibly difficult. They're already exhausted at the end of a long year. Extending the season does have its benefits, too, though. Instead of going NCAA Championships, U.S. Nationals three weeks later, then the World Championships six weeks after that, it conceivably creates a break between NCAAs and Nationals.
The other major benefit of having the World Championships at the end of the season is that they would serve as the true Super Bowl of the sport. In most years, the Diamond League finals in Zurich and Brussels in early September generally represent the end of the worldwide track & field season. The World Championships and Olympics are usually held in August, which means you have a few events after the major international event that's the focus of everyone's season. While that's going to remain standard operating procedure, the idea of having the World Championships end the season the same way the Super Bowl or Final Four or Champions League Final does is a pretty cool idea, even if it does end up being a one-time thing.
While the World Championships are a major coup for Doha and another Olympic bid from the city seems inevitable, I don't think it has done anything to improve Doha's chances of getting that Olympics it so covets. All of the problems that have plagued Doha Olympic bids in the past are still very real problems, and it's not like Doha can just buy the Olympics like they can other events, which is still the perception worldwide (if they could buy an Olympics, they would've by now).
But with one sport, it's easier to work around those logistical problems. The track & field community is willing to make the adjustments necessary to go to Doha, which is a city that has already proven itself when it comes to track & field. It's a lot more to ask when you're trying to coordinate the international federations of every Olympic sport, and the IOC, and all the TV networks, all at the same time. They're having enough problems trying to figure out the schedule for the World Cup. Imagine if Doha ever did get the Olympics all the headaches it would cause!
Rather than looking at this as a boost for Doha's Olympic chances, I'm encouraged by Eugene's second-place finish. It's a small, college town, yet it came remarkably close to landing the biggest prize in the sport. Pulling off World Juniors so well certainly helped. Oregon's passion for track was on full display, and any doubts the IAAF might've had were put to rest. It's clear that, despite its size, Eugene is capable of hosting the World Championships.
If history is any indication, Eugene's chances of hosting the World Championships in the future are very good. Perhaps as early as 2021. London finished second to Beijing for next year's Championships, then won the right to host in 2017. Ditto for Doha. Second for 2017, hosting in 2019. The first IAAF World Championships were held in 1983. Over those 30 years, the United States has been the most successful team, yet has never hosted the event. The IAAF is aware of this and wants it to change.
That's what makes me so optimistic about Doha's narrow victory over Eugene. The World Championships are coming to the U.S. Soon. Get ready Oregon. It's almost your time.
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