Nairobi Beats London to Host 2029 World Athletics Championships for the First Time in Africa

• World Athletics confirmed Nairobi as the host city for the 2029 World Athletics Championships at a council meeting in Budapest
• The Kenyan capital beat out London, Rome and one other city to secure the historic hosting rights
• World Athletics president Sebastian Coe described Nairobi's bid as compelling, pointing to the city's strong athletics credentials

Nairobi has been awarded the right to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, becoming the first African city to stage the event after defeating bids from London, Rome and one other competitor at a World Athletics council meeting held in Budapest.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe announced the decision, describing Kenya's capital as having presented "a compelling and emotional bid" that convinced the council it was ready to make history.

"Taking the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time will be historic," Coe said in his address following the vote.

"It was important that the World Athletics 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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BBC reported that Coe also noted the broader context of the decision, saying the council was deliberately expanding the global footprint of the championships: "With this decision today, we continue to fulfil our mission of growing athletics worldwide with the hosting of our World Athletics Championships in Asia, Africa and Europe over its next three editions."

The Kenyan capital had previously bid to host the 2025 edition but was beaten by Tokyo. This time around, its proposal was bolstered by the planned renovation of Kasarani Stadium ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which gave the infrastructure argument considerably more weight.

Kenya's athletics pedigree further strengthened the case. At the 2025 World Athletics Championships, the country finished second in the overall medal table, claiming seven gold medals and 11 medals in total.

London and Rome Miss Out as Munich Lands 2031

London's bid centred on the London Stadium, the Premier League home of West Ham United, which previously hosted the 2017 World Athletics Championships and also served as a venue during the 2012 Olympic Games.

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The stadium additionally stages the annual London Diamond League meeting. Despite those credentials, the bid was not enough to secure the 2029 rights.

Rome was similarly unsuccessful. However, World Athletics also confirmed at the same Budapest meeting that Munich would host the 2031 championships, marking the German city's first time staging the event.

Coe acknowledged that the standard of competition among the four bidders made the final call particularly difficult. "We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the council," he said.

Ghana makes history with a national record

YEN.com.gh reported earlier that Ghana’s men’s 4x100m relay team lit up the track in Tokyo, breaking the national record to qualify for the final of the World Athletics Championships.

The quartet of Ibrahim Fuseini, Benjamin Azamati, Joseph Paul Amoah and Abdul Rasheed Saminu clocked 37.79 seconds, surpassing the old mark of 38.07 set at the 2022 edition in Eugene.

Their time was the fastest across all heats, raising hopes of a medal on the global stage.

Source: YEN.com.gh