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I booked my ticket for the morning of July 13 morning to cover the Eugene World Athletics Championships starting Friday, July 15. Unfortunately, the travel agent issued a ticket from Denver to Eugene that didn’t match my name on the passport.
With roughly 25 minutes at hand, the security officer pointed out the mistake and denied access to the boarding gate.
The security officer at the Denver airport said:
“Your ID and name on the flight ticket are not matching. We can’t let you go. Please contact the airlines.”
I glanced at my watch. It was 10:40 am and the boarding gate was scheduled to close at 11:09 am. I could feel my heart beating fast. I stayed calm and rushed to the airline's ticketing counter, which took me nearly eight minutes. The airline's staff were friendly and helpful, but took another five minutes before issuing a fresh ticket with the right name.
The female official at the airline counter said:
“The travel agent made a mistake and you didn’t cross-check.”
I sprinted back to the security gate. By the time I cleared security, it was close to 10:55 am. Maneuvering through escalators and catching airport trains in the morning rush hour at the Denver International airport was a challenging task.
Good fitness enabled me to reach the boarding gate just three minutes before the scheduled time, where another hurdle awaited me.
Strict Covid protocals in Eugene
To avoid the spread of Covid-19, the World Athletics has made it mandatory to strictly follow the Covid-19 protocols. Apart from wearing masks at Hayward Field, it’s also mandatory to have a negative RT-PCR report 24 hours before reaching Eugene.
I had made an effort to book an online appointment in Denver on July 12 for an RT-PCR test, but it was packed.
Upon landing at the Eugene airport on July 13 in the afternoon, the immediate task was to inquire about the test.
It was a big relief when a volunteer informed me that it could be done inside the University of Oregon campus, the venue for the World Athletics Championships.
I dumped my luggage at the Help Desk inside the university campus and rushed to the medical center for the test.
Everything went smoothly until the doctor at the medical center asked me to pay via card. His polite response was “no cash” please. I called my local friend and he came to my rescue. Eventually, I got my negative RT-PCR report and media accreditation. The whole procedure took a good 30 minutes.
Hopping from one venue to another inside the sprawling University of Oregon Campus was taxing but exhilarating. It was satisfying because I will be witnessing exciting athletics contests in the coming days at Hayward Field.
