All eyes for the past week and a half have been on the likes of elite athletes like Ashton Eaton at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, which wrapped up Sunday at Hayward Field.But a much younger set of athletes was performing for an appreciative audience each day at the Trials, even if the audience was just mom and dad and a sibling and friend or two.By the time the Trials closed down Sunday, more than 6,000 children had jumped, run and hurdled their way through a series of noncompetitive events aimed entirely at the younger set in the Starting Block, a partnership between the city of Eugene, Nike and the University of Oregon, said Janet Whitty, co-captain of the endeavor.The Starting Block — originally called the KidZone — has been part of UO track and field events since 2006.The Starting Block offered a cordoned-off area in the free Fan Festival where children from toddler age to 16 years old could try out scaled-down events like high jump, hurdles and rolling — definitely not putting — a 9-pound women’s shot.That’s where we found Greg O’Shea and his daughters, Aoíbhinn, 10, and Medbh, 9. (Pronounced “Evan” and “Mave.”)“I used to run on this track,” said O’Shea, who works for the Bonneville Power Administration and came from Portland to watch the Trials. “I haven’t been to the Trials since 1980. Things sure have changed a lot since then.”In those days, he said, the event was a good deal more casual than the slick, corporate atmosphere of today.“Now you get to watch a BMW commercial on the big screen,” he said. “That sort of diminishes the accomplishments of the athletes. I like just the raw experience.”Perhaps the best job at the Starting Block went to Billie Moser, who works in real life for the city of Eugene’s Cultural Services Division.On Sunday, though, Moser was helping tiny athletes learn to handle tiny hurdles, one tiny step at a time, as she worked with the Starting Block’s youngest visitors.“Let’s walk it first,” she told one little girl, taking her by the hand and walking her gently over a series of bright plastic hurdles no higher than a curb stone. “Step over! Step over! Now, let’s start right here! When I say, ‘Go!,’ that’s when you run. Ready?”Judah Garfinkle of Portland watched from the wings as his daughter, Maddy, who is almost 5, and 3-year-old son, Ian, navigated the hurdles.“I went to college here,” he said. “I’m down for the weekend for a family reunion, and we thought we’d bring the kids along.”The Starting Block was also the holding area for lost children — of which Whitty said she knew of only two. One boy had memorized his father’s cell phone number and was quickly reunited with dad; the other was kept entertained for 10 minutes until his mother safely collected him.