For the first time, USA Track and Field’s Outdoor Championships and the Para National Championships will be hosted at a combined meet on July 31 to August 3.
U.S. Paralympics announced the move on Tuesday, and affirming USATF’s pledge to unite Para athletes under the same body as its own athletes.
The joint meet will be held at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, with the Para National Championships ending on August 2, a day before the Outdoor Championships.
“This meet will be momentous for the sport because we don’t often get the opportunity to showcase able-bodied and Para sport side by side,” Sherrice Fox, U.S. Paralympics Track and Field director said in a statement. “It will not only determine which of our athletes we take with us to worlds, but also will be the first time that fans will get to see Para sport contested at USATF Outdoor Championships. We are so excited to set the cornerstone for what will hopefully be many more combined meets in the future.”
It will be the first time both programs will share the same stage at the same time.
In January, USATF revealed that it was absorbing the U.S. Paralympic movement under its guidance as a way to provide Para athletes with the same facilities, resources and logistics that its athletes currently have access to — and is now the 17th governing body in the United States to take on the integration of its Paralympic colleagues.
Before January’s move, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee was responsible for all Para track and field duties.
“We are thrilled to host the USATF Para National Championships concurrently with the USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field for the first time,” USATF CEO Max Siegel said in a statement. “This historic event underscores USATF’s commitment to providing equal opportunities for all elite track and field athletes. With the Championships just a few months away, we’re excited to showcase the incredible talent of both Para and able-bodied athletes in one of the most extraordinary facilities in the world.”
The combined meet in Oregon will determine the teams both programs send to their respective world championships.
The World Track and Field Championships will be in Tokyo from September 13 to 21, while the World Para Track and Field Championships will be held in New Delhi, India from September 26 to October 5.
Now united under the same organization, both programs had strong showing in the Olympic spotlight in Paris last year.
The U.S. Olympic track and field team won 34 medals — including 14 gold medals, which was the most for any nation. The U.S. Paralympic track and field team won 38 medals, with its 10 gold medals only second behind China.
