Kenyan President William Ruto on Tuesday hailed Nairobi’s successful bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, the first time the event will be held in Africa.
World Athletics announced the decision early Tuesday, with Nairobi beating competition from London, Munich and Rome.
“This is Kenya’s moment, Africa’s moment and a victory for generations of athletes who made our nation synonymous with excellence on the track, on the road and cross country,” Ruto wrote on X.
The east African country is home to world-renowned athletes, with World Athletics president Sebastian Coe describing the decision as “historic”.
“Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic. Nairobi has presented a compelling and an emotional bid,” Coe said.
Kenya has been renovating and building stadiums across the country in recent months as it prepares to host major global sporting events.
Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala, who holds the African 100m record, praised the decision on X, saying: “What a time to be a Kenyan athlete.”
Paul Tergat, a former marathon world record holder and ex-president of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya, called it “truly momentous”, and said Nairobi and Kenya “deserve this honour”.
Kenya, which failed with a bid for the 2025 world championships, has previously hosted the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the World under-18 Championships in Nairobi in 2017 and the World under-20 Championships in the capital in 2021.
Nairobi also staged the 2010 African Athletics Championships.
