LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Kenya will make history as the first African nation to host the World Athletics Championships after Nairobi won the bid for the 2029 edition.
The championships will be staged at Nairobi’s 48,000-capacity Kasarani Stadium.
London and Rome missed out, while Munich secured hosting rights for the 2031 championships.
The country’s athletics pedigree played a major role in its successful bid.
The country has won 72 World Championship and 38 Olympic gold medals.
Kenya is the second-most successful nation in World Championships history.
Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge supported Nairobi’s bid during the selection process.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe described Kenya’s proposal as “compelling and emotional”.
“Kenya is one of the great athletics nations,” Coe added.
“The sport is woven into the fabric of the country.”
“It was important that the World Championships should come to Africa when we had the right host,
the right bid and the right circumstances.”
“Nairobi has demonstrated emphatically that this is their moment.”
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The decision marks a landmark moment for African athletics, which has never hosted the senior championships.
Nairobi hosted the 2017 World Under-18 and 2021 World U20 Championships.
Kenya also bid for the 2025 championships but lost to Tokyo.
Infrastructure upgrades have strengthened Kenya’s latest proposal.
Kasarani Stadium is undergoing a major structural overhaul ahead of the championships.
Hosting the 2029 championships will mark a major milestone for the East African nation.
