The Visionary: An Interview with Vin Lananna

Published by Competitor on November 30, 2015

A perennial winning coach at the University of Oregon, Stanford, Dartmouth and Oberlin College, Vin Lananna is now one of track and field’s foremost impresarios, having organized the past two U.S. Olympic Trials, the past three NCAA outdoor championships and the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, Ore., in his current role as president of TrackTown USA. Lananna, who also serves as an associate athletic director at the U of O, won bids to host the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Ore., in March, and is bringing the 2021 IAAF World Championships to America for the first time—in Eugene, of all places. But he hasn’t hung up his stopwatch for good: Lananna, 62, will also be head coach of the U.S. track and field team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. 

How’s Portland 2016 coming along?

Portland 2016 is going well. There’s an enormously strong reception, especially from the city officials, and I think the entire state of Oregon has embraced it. When I was in Beijing there was enormous interest and enthusiasm from different federations from around the world who have really expressed a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement for coming to the United States for the World Indoor Championships. We think we’ll have a really great indoor event, and I think the athletes will be received warmly and there’ll be great competition. 

Why is it important that the IAAF World Championships take place on American soil?

It’s our obligation and our honor to host the Worlds in a country, which, on the global stage, is central to the sport of track and field. I think that the United States has a unique responsibility to do our part to develop and to perpetuate the popularity of track and field in our own country and across the globe. More selfishly speaking, it’s just like you would not want to have a great football team or soccer team and never compete in your home community.