Along with the thousands of junior track and field athletes from 167 countries who poured into Eugene for the IAAF Junior World Championships  came national and world media, bringing lots of attention to the UO.

The event began Tuesday, July 22, and will continue through Sunday evening, July 27. In the 14-year history of the event, this is the first time the meet has been held in the United States.

After the first day, the event was featured in a number of news outlets, including The Register-Guard and The Oregonian regionally and The New York Times. Stories looked at the volunteer ambassador program and UO trumpet professor Brian McWhorter’s singular effort to write a musical score for the 10,000-meter race, as well as sports coverage of the meet.

Volunteer ambassadors, assigned to each competing country, consist mostly of UO students. In addition to speaking 33 languages, the ambassadors also were required to take sports history and business classes through the university.

As the opening day wound down on Tuesday evening, the stadium lights shone down on the last and longest race of the day – the men’s 10,000-meter run. A live performance by McWhorter and the UO Brass and Percussion Ensemble energized both the crowd and the competitors throughout the race.

You can hear about the global ambassadors in a story by radio station KLCC here, or read an account in The Register-Guard.

For a report on McWhorter’s score for the 10,000-meter race, check out the stories in The Oregonian and The New York Times.

And for a complete rundown on each day’s events and winners, check out the IAAF’s competition roundup.

For tickets, visit GoDucks.com.

—By Nathaniel Brown, Public Affairs Communications intern