Africa's Turn to Shine

World Athletics has announced the hosts of the 2029 and 2031 World Championships.  And that announcement was historic.  The 2029 World Championships will be historic.  They're headed to Nairobi, the first time World Athletics' signature event will take place in Africa.  Something that was a long time coming!

There have been numerous World Athletics events held in Africa over the years.  This year's World Relays, in fact, were in Botswana.  There was a very successful World Cross Country Championships in Uganda in 2017.  Nairobi itself has already hosted the World U18 and World U20 Championships (separately).  But the marquee competition, the World Outdoor Championships, have never been in Africa.  A glaring omission that needed to be rectified.

For a long time, the United States was the glaring omission.  That's why World Athletics awarded the 2021 World Championships to Eugene, Oregon without the traditional bid process.  They wanted a Worlds in the U.S. and Eugene was the only logical place in the U.S. to do it (and had a strong bid), so they made it happen.  Once those delayed Worlds finally took place in 2026, Africa became the obvious next place they had to go.

Just as Eugene was the obvious choice for the first World Championships in the U.S., Nairobi was the obvious choice for the first World Championships in Africa.  Nairobi has already shown itself capable, not just through those age group Championships, but because of the Kip Keino Classic, an annual stop on the World Athletics Continental Tour.  Plus, they have the stadium.  Most significantly, Kenya's history at the World Championships.  So, all the pieces were there for Nairobi to be selected.

Kenya obviously has a strong history of distance running, and it's the most successful nation at Worlds behind the United States.  Some of the biggest names in the history of the sport, both active and retired, are Kenyan.  David Rudisha, Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Kipyegon, Vivian Cheruiyot, to name just a few.  And they've expanded beyond just distance running in recent years, too, from Julius Yego (World Champion in the javelin) to Ferdinand Ominyala (the 10th-fastest man all-time in the 100 meters).  So, they're not just a distance running nation anymore.  They're a track & field nation.

The initial thought was that Nairobi would be awarded the 2025 World Championships.  Those ended up going to Tokyo, mostly as a make-good after the 2020 Olympics were delayed by a year and held without spectators.  And not only did fans finally get a chance to actually experience world-class track & field at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium, every session of the World Championships was sold out!  So, there's really no questioning World Athletics' decision to make that call.  

With next year's World Championships set for Beijing, that's not just back-to-back Worlds in Asia, it's back-to-back not in Europe.  Track & field is bigger than Europe than anywhere else, and there's never been three World Championships in a row outside of Europe.  Which led to the (not unreasonable) belief that 2029 would go to one of the very strong European bids from London, Munich or Rome.  They wouldn't award two World Championships at once and not give Nairobi either, especially after going to Africa became a priority.  I was just expecting it to be 2031.  So, Nairobi getting 2029 was a pleasant surprise.

As I already noted, Nairobi was the most logical choice among potential African host cities.  There's an annual Diamond League stop in Rabat, but Morocco doesn't have anything close to the history that Kenya does.  Another thing that worked in Nairobi's favor is that the stadium is in the midst of being upgraded for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya is co-hosting.  Once those renovations are complete, the stadium will hold 55,000 for the World Championships.

And, make no mistake, it isn't just Kenya that'll be hosting.  It's Africa that will be!  The 2029 World Championships will be a celebration for the entire continent, which will finally be getting its chance to shine on the global stage.  It's been a long time coming for all of them.  And you know there will be plenty of fans coming from neighboring countries losing their minds for their athletes just as much as the Kenyan fans will for theirs.  If this year's World Relays are any indication, it'll be a wild celebration.

This isn't just a big move for World Athletics, it's potentially a legacy-defining one for Seb Coe.  He's been responsible for a lot of things (both good and bad) during his tenure as World Athletics President.  Bringing the World Outdoor Championships to new places will certainly go down as one of the biggest.  They went to the Middle East for the first time (Doha 2019).  They went to the United States for the first time (Oregon 2022).  Now they're headed to Africa for the first time (Nairobi 2029).  Don't think that isn't significant.

At the same time Nairobi was awarded 2029, Munich was chosen as the host for the 2031 World Championships.  It'll mark then third time the event is held in Germany (in a third different city after Stuttgart 1993 and Berlin 2009), and the first World Championships in Europe since 2023 in Budapest.  It also sets up a string where five consecutive major global championships will take place on different continents (Beijing 2027, Los Angeles 2028, Nairobi 2029, Munich 2031, Brisbane 2032).  That's a pretty cool thing not many sports can boast!  (2033 World Championships in South America to make it 6-for-6?)

Going to Africa is historic simply because of the fact it's never happened before.  That was the case with the 2010 World Cup.  That will be the case when the Olympics finally go to Africa for the first time.  And now that the first time is out of the way, it won't be newsworthy when it happens again.  And I mean that in a good way.  Because it shouldn't be newsworthy.  If it's the best, most capable host, that's where it should be, regardless of country or continent.

But the first one is different.  And I can't think of a better place to be Africa's first than Nairobi.  Not just because of Kenya's history at the World Championships.  Not just because they have the infrastructure in place.  Not just because they've already shown they're capable.  Because of all those things put together.  Nairobi, and Kenya, deserves it!

So, was Nairobi the right choice for the 2029 World Championships?  Absolutely!  Even though it felt inevitable they'd get one eventually, now that they've actually been selected, that makes it real.  The World Athletics Championships are finally headed to Africa.  Now it's time for the Olympics to follow.