It’s A Proud Moment For Kenya, Africa As Nairobi Named 2029 World Athletics Championhips Host- Hon Eliud Owalo
NAIROBI, Kenya- It is indeed a proud moment for Kenya and Africa at large, as Nairobi won an extremely competitive bid to host the 2029 edition of the prestigious World Athletics Championships, beating Germany (Munich), the United Kingdom (London), and Italy (Rome).
As a staunch supporter of the growth and development of Kenyan sport, I wish to express my deep appreciation to the international athletics governing body, World Athletics for selecting Kenya to host the sport’s flagship event following one of the strongest bidding processes in the history of world athletics.
This is a landmark moment for Kenya as the historic verdict reached during the 242nd World Athletics Council Meeting in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday, September 14, 2026, brings athletics’ biggest global event to Africa for the first time, when Nairobi stages the 2029 edition in September at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
I would equally like to acknowledge the efforts by the local athletics body, Athletics Kenya in presenting a formidable bid this time round, after the country failed to secure the bid for the 2025 Championships, which was ultimately awarded to Tokyo, Japan. It was no mean achievement for the country, as earlier in the pre-qualification phase, other nations such as India, South Korea, and Ethiopia had also expressed preliminary interest as hosts, but the final vote came down to the three European contenders – Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy, and Kenya.
Kenya has in the past displayed exemplary organisational acumen in hosting World Athletics events. The country successfully hosted the World Under-18 Championships in 2017 and later the World Under-20 Championships in 2021. The two events saw the country gain the requisite experience and expertise in staging global athletics competitions, and were thus a major boost to the 2029 World Championships bid.
I still vividly remember the enthusiasm shown by Kenyans during the 2017 World U-18 Championships, with huge crowds thronging the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, throughout the competition.
The passion shown by Kenyans for athletics, which is only second to football, has been successfully exemplified on the world stage in various international competitions. Today, Kenya is the second most successful nation in World Athletics Championships history. The country finished second on the medal table at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025, clinching seven gold medals and 11 medals in total.
To date, the country has produced some of the greatest athletes to stake a place as one of the greatest athletics nations on the global scene. They include world gold medallists Faith Kipyegon, Vivian Cheruiyot, Eliud Kipchoge, Hellen Obiri, and David Rudisha, as well as two-time Olympic champion Kip Keino, multiple world cross country champion Paul Tergat, and multiple world half-marathon champion Tegla Loroupe, all of whom have shaped the history of our athletics sport.
And these words by World Athletics President Sebastian Coe sum up Kenya’s successful bid: “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.”
Signed:
Eliud Owalo, FIHRM, FESK, EGH
Presidential Aspirant 2027
People’s Prosperity Party (PPP)
Dated: 15th September, 2026
