Kenya will become the first African nation to host the World Athletics Championships in 2029.
Nairobi will stage the tournament at the 48,000-capacity Kasarani Stadium.
London and Rome also wanted the 2029 rights. However, they missed out on the hosting opportunity.
World Athletics awarded the 2031 championships to Munich.
Kenya’s running heritage makes the difference
Kenya’s strong athletics history played a major role in its successful bid.
The country ranks second among nations in World Championships history. Kenya has won 72 gold medals at the event.
It has also claimed 38 Olympic gold medals. Most of those victories came in middle- and long-distance events.
Kenya has produced many of the sport’s biggest stars. Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge is one of them.
Kipchoge also won the 5000m title at the 2003 World Championships. He supported Kenya’s bid to host the 2029 event.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe praised the country’s athletics culture.
“Kenya is one of the great athletics nations,” said Coe.
“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.”
Coe also described Kenya’s bid as “compelling and emotional.”
Hosting experience
The 2029 World Championships will not be Kenya’s first major athletics event.
The country previously hosted the 2017 World Under-18 and 2021 World U20 Championships in Nairobi and the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the nation’s coastal city.
Kenya lost out on the 2025 World Championships to Tokyo, largely because of infrastructure concerns. This time, improved facilities proved decisive.
Upgrades to existing venues and the development of new ones have accelerated as the country prepares to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Tanzania and Uganda.
Kasarani Stadium, which will host the 2029 World Championships, is currently undergoing a complete structural overhaul in preparation for Africa’s biggest football tournament.
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