The World Athletics Championships Oregon22 was one for the ages. The first World Championships held on American ground was littered with sights and sounds to last a lifetime.
Former track-and-field star Kristin Ihle Helledy continues to look back fondly at the summer showcase. The retired Nike athlete enjoyed how the event organizers hosted the athletes at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.
“There are great places where they would kind of stage athletes before they’d go onto the track. The facilities were just second to none from a fan experience, coaching experience, and athlete experience,” she said.
Kristin Ihle Helledy watched Team USA break the record for the most medals at a single World Championship, earning 33 in total. The U.S. team also swept medals in the men’s 100-meter, 200-meter, and shot put. The depth and strength of the U.S. team earned it the top spot in the Team Trophy standings.
There were more mind-boggling milestones reached at Hayward Field. Sydney McLaughlin of the U.S. set a world record in the 400-meter hurdles, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan set a world record in the 100 hurdles, and Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis was head and heels above any other pole vaulter in the history of the sport.
American Allyson Felix extended her record medal total to 20 after gold in the women’s 4×400-meter relay and bronze in the mixed 4×400 relay.
Despite the celebrations and highlights from the 10-day event, there was controversy at TrackTown USA. One of the most significant controversies was when the competition turned physical.
American Bryce Hoppel encountered some pushing and shoving while in the pack of his heat. Hoppel finished fifth and considered a protest. Canada’s Brandon McBride pushed Hoppel early in the first lap of the first-round 800-meter race. Hoppel was able to keep running after his stumble, but he didn’t recover for a strong finish. McBride finished last.
“I actually think the Canadian guy was favored. This is just to get to the semifinals. So, he starts stumbling, shoves the American, and then in the end the Canadian guy goes down flat on his face,” said Kristin Ihle Helledy.
For the past 30 years, Kristin Ihle Helledy has focused on accelerating human performance, both personally and professionally. She understands dissecting results with a critical eye for a better outcome down the line. Another big issue she saw at Oregon22 was the false start shot heard round the world.
Devon Allen, former University of Oregon track and field athlete and football player was disqualified from the 110 hurdles final after a false start. However, the video evidence showed both Allen and Grant Holloway, the ultimate winner, taking off at the same time.
Allen’s disqualification card came down to fractions of a second. After the starting gun is fired, athletes have 0.1 seconds to begin running. Allen commenced running just 0.001 seconds before that threshold began. Therefore, he didn’t start running before the gunshot but would have been determined to anticipate when the gun would fire.
“It’s hard to describe, but what happened was basically he got punished for having a freakish reaction time. There are sensors in the blocks, the starting blocks, and his reaction out of the block was too fast,” said Ihle Helledy, a six-time collegiate All-American.
Allen’s speed hurt him out of the block, and fans were in an uproar.
“It’s probably why he’s so successful as a wide receiver in the NFL. So, the controversy is that the starting block sensors assessed that threshold that he left 0.099 seconds too soon,” she said.
Kristin Ihle Helledy was on seven different U.S. teams. She has a Ph.D. in multicultural psychology and consults in sports psychology with NCAA teams and individual athletes.