Oregon Public Broadcasting

People in Eugene remember last summer’s Olympic Track & Field trials as a “remarkable” ten days.

But a month later, the track and field team disappointed in Beijing.

In response, the sport’s governing body commissioned a report to investigate why. The report was released Monday.

Ethan Lindsey reports on how it might deal a blow to Eugene.

A blue-ribbon committee released a report highly critical of parts of the trials and of the preparation for the Olympics.

The USA Track & Field report recommended shortening the 2012 trials from 10 days to 5, at most.

Lisa Lawton works for the Lane County visitors’ association.

Lisa Lawton: “Well, it’s still very prestigious to be able to host these games, and we want to be able to put our best foot forward and do the best we can. Certainly we’d like to see the competition extend as many days as possible, to bring in many visitors to the area. But ultimately we would like to see what’s best for the athletes.”

Organizers say the 2008 Track and Field trials drew 167,000 fans to Hayward Field in Eugene.

And officials estimate the event generated at least $28 million for the region.

Janet Heinonen is a longtime Eugene resident and a track journalist.

She says ten days of competition gave fans a great experience.

Janet Heinonen: “As a track fan, you didn’t feel like you were exhausting yourself by being there from 10 in the morning to 10 at night, which can happen if you are a real die-hard track fan and want to see everything.”

The report also criticized shoe companies, such as Nike, for being too involved in athletes' careers, and possibly hindering Olympic performances.

Neither Nike, nor the Oregon Track Club, responded to calls for comment.