Utahn named to the USA Track and Field Team for Worlds

U of O's Hayward Field. Photo: Michele Roepke

PROVO, Utah — For the first time on U.S. soil, the World Athletic Championships are set to start on Friday at the storied Hayward Field Stadium on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene. Born and raised in Northern Utah, Brigham Young University (BYU) senior Courtney Wayment will represent her home state in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She’ll join 130 other Americans going up against 190 countries in ‘Tracktown,’ USA.

Dustin Williams, from Orem, Utah, will be there as well, working as the co-head doctor for the medical staff of all the disciplines at the World Championships.

Past 10 years’ host cities:

• Qatar
• UK
• China
• Russia
• S. Korea
• Germany
• Japan 
• Finland
• France
• Canada

13 of the last 19 times the Track and Field World Championships were held, the USA dominated the medal count. 

Highlighted at the event is Steve “Pre” Prefontaine, who passed away in 1975 at the age of 24 in a traffic accident in Eugene. Prefontaine was a track star who broke multiple national records and represented the USA at the 1972 Olympics. His photo is highest on the silver stadium tower.

Linda Prefontaine, his sister, still lives in Coos Bay, on the central coast of Oregon, where the two grew up. Steve ran for Marshfield High School before attending the U of O in Eugene, an hour and a half away.

Linda told TownLift, “If you are going to have knowledgeable and supportive fans, then you hold track meets in Eugene.”

In the National Athletics Championships in Eugene in June, the University of Utah sent athletes alongside BYU athletes with Wayment. She and the other Utahns competed for a coveted spot representing the USA in unseasonably warm June weather.

Park City, Utah, is suited for high-altitude training taken advantage of by many African and Caribbean athletes over the years. They’ve been known to utilize underwater treadmills in the outside lap pool at Park City’s Municipal Athletic Recreation Center (M.A.R.C). before taking to the trails managed by Park City’s Mountain Trails Foundation.

The 2022 World Championships run from July 15 to 24, and Wayment competes in the prelim heats on Saturday the 16, while the finals begin Wednesday the 20.

The competition may be viewed on NBC, USA, and Peacock.