Dates have been finalized for the postponed World Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which will begin at Hayward Field in Eugene on July 15, 2022, and conclude on July 24.

The meet will mark the first time a world outdoor championships has taken place in the United States. It is expected to draw athletes from more than 200 countries.

It originally was scheduled to begin in August 2021. That became untenable when the worldwide coronavirus pandemic forced a one-year postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The meet’s Eugene organizing committee, which changed its name from Oregon21 to Oregon22, made the announcement Wednesday in conjunction with USA Track & Field and World Athletics, the governing body the sport internationally.

Hayward Field, located on the University of Oregon campus, is nearing completion of a two-year, privately-financed reconstruction to bring the stadium up to minimum specifications to host a world championships.

The summer of 2022 will be busy for track athletes from Europe and from countries associated with the British Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Games are scheduled for July 27 to Aug. 7 in Birmingham, England. The European Outdoor Track & Field Championships are scheduled Aug. 11-21 in Munich.

Track and field is known as Athletics in other parts of the world.

“This will be a bonanza for athletics fans around the world,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said in a prepared statement.

“They will be treated to six weeks of absolutely first-class athletics. More than 70 of our member federations are part of the Commonwealth and more than 50 of our member federations are European, so our guiding principle in rescheduling the World Championships was to ensure enough space was created around the centerpiece World Athletics Championship for athletes to choose other major events to compete in. We were also very mindful that we did not want to damage the other major championships in 2022, because they are also very important to our sport.”

The scheduling is interesting, since it has the world championships as the first of the three meets.

“We would not have chosen to have three major championships back-to-back,” Coe said. “But it will give us a unique opportunity to promote our sport and its stars around the globe over a six-week period.”

Oregon22 executive director Niels de Vos said in a statement that his event needed to be flexible while determining dates.

“I should like to thank Oregon’s stakeholders for committing so early to the postponement, allowing maximum flexibility on dates for our friends at World Athletics, just as they have been flexible with us in ensuring our plans can remain on track despite the 12-month postponement," de Vos said.

"Oregon22, as we must now get used to calling it, will be kickstarting a global festival of international track and field championships in the summer of 2022 that will be a fantastic experience for athletes and fans alike.”

-- Ken Goe

kgoe@oregonian.com | @KenGoe

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