Justin Stewart weighs Jamaica run for World U20 championships in Eugene

Hayward Field is preparing for another surge of international sprint talent this summer, and Justin Stewart could be one of the names that gives Eugene extra buzz. The 19-year-old, whose family ties run deep in Jamaican track and field, is weighing a run for Jamaica as the World Athletics U20 Championships come to Eugene from August 5-9.

For Lane County, the stakes go beyond another marquee meet on the University of Oregon calendar. World Athletics says the Eugene championships will be the 21st edition of the U20 meet, and the city is returning to the same venue that hosted the world U20 championships in 2014. If Stewart takes the line in Eugene, local fans will see one more young sprinter with both pedigree and speed on a stage built for fast times and international attention.

World Athletics lists Stewart as a U.S. athlete born December 2, 2007, with personal bests of 10.31 seconds in the 100 meters and 20.68 in the 200 meters. Under the Eugene 26 qualification system, athletes aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 on December 31, 2026 are eligible, which means those born in 2007 through 2010 can compete. Stewart’s path, if he chooses Jamaica, would run through Jamaica’s selection system rather than the U.S. one.

That decision has added interest around Jamaica’s junior championships, known as The Trials, which are scheduled for June 18-21 at National Stadium in Kingston. JAAA says its registration process verifies an athlete’s date of birth before directing entrants to either the junior or senior form, a safeguard that matters for a meet feeding into the country’s team selections.

Stewart’s name carries extra weight in Jamaica because of his family. His father, Raymond Stewart, is a World Athletics profile holder and Olympic silver medallist. His mother, Beverly McDonald, won Olympic relay medals for Jamaica, including gold in the women’s 4x100 meters at the 2004 Olympics. That legacy has turned his possible Jamaica debut into one of the more closely watched storylines heading toward Eugene.

If Stewart chooses the Jamaican route and qualifies, Eugene residents can expect another reminder of why Hayward Field has become a global track destination. The August meet will bring rising stars, national flags and the kind of atmosphere that puts the city in front of the sport’s next generation.