Nairobi, Kenya – For more than four decades, the World Athletics Championships have been held across continents but never in Africa. That changes in 2029, when Nairobi becomes the first African city to host the track and field championships, bringing the sport’s flagship global competition to a continent whose athletes have helped shape its history. The World Athletics Championships were established in 1983 in Helsinki, Finland, after decades in which athletics’ biggest global competitions were largely tied to the Olympic Games.
The inaugural championships brought together 1,333 athletes from 153 countries, laying the foundation for one of the most important events on the international sporting calendar. Africa’s relationship with athletics stretches much further back. Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila became the first African to win Olympic marathon gold in 1960, followed by generations of track and field athletes including Uganda’s John Akii-Bua, Morocco’s Said Aouita and a succession of Kenyan champions.
Kenya’s own story is particularly significant. Kipchoge Keino’s 1,500-metre triumph at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics helped establish Kenya as a global distance-running powerhouse. Generations that followed – from Paul Tergat and David Rudisha to Eliud Kipchoge, Vivian Cheruiyot, Hellen Obiri and Faith Kipyegon – have turned Kenyan athletics into a global sporting identity.
Kenya is the second most successful nation in World Athletics Championships history. For Keino, the two-time Olympic champion and former world record holder whose achievements helped establish Kenya’s reputation in distance running, Nairobi’s selection represents the culmination of decades of progress. Seeing Kenya prepare to host the World Athletics Championships in 2029 is a deeply special moment,” Keino told Al Jazeera.
Kenya’s campaign to host the 2029 championships lasted three years and culminated in victory at the World Athletics Council meeting in Budapest on September 15 . Competing bids came from London, Rome and Munich, all cities with established records of hosting major international athletics events. Nairobi’s bid highlighted the ongoing renovation of Kasarani stadium ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, as well as Kenya’s experience hosting the 2017 World U18 Championships and the 2021 World U20 junior Championships.
Kenya also drew lessons from its unsuccessful bid for the 2025 championships, which was awarded to Tokyo. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the council had received four strong bids and described Nairobi’s proposal as “compelling and emotional”. They offer very different but equally exciting opportunities for our sport, and I am delighted that we can now begin working with both cities to stage two world-class championships,” Coe said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
