When World Athletics announced on Tuesday that Kenya would host the first World Athletics Championships on African soil, one could bet that adrenaline surged as fast as Ferdinand Omanyala through the minds and hearts of staunch athletics fans on the continent as the African dream finally came true.
The World Athletics Council selected Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, as the host of the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
“Taking the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time will be historic,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said.
During an exclusive interview with a panel of SA journalists, Omanyalo said: “I’ve been part of the athletes that have been part of the bidding process that started in 2022. We bid to host the World Championships last year but … it ended up going to Tokyo. But we didn’t give up.
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“There was another bid to host the championships in 2029 … Hearing this news that we had won was a massive relief.”
The sprinting sensation, 30, said it was good to see that Kenya was being trusted to host major events. The country co-hosted the 2025 African Nations Championship last year and will be one of three set to host the Afcon next year.
“The trust has been built over the years because … every time countries in Africa showed interest in hosting these major events, some countries from the West would not want to come and participate … But then it’s been changing … We are hosting the Afcon next year, and we just hosted the Chan last year, which was a huge success.
“New stadiums have been built and with the world championships coming, that means our tracks are going to be upgraded and new facilities will come from it. These are benefits that would have taken years if we couldn’t have gotten that world championship. This is big and beneficial on all fronts for Kenyan people.”
- Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, was selected to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, marking the first time the event will take place on African soil.
- World Athletics president Sebastian Coe described the 2029 Championships in Africa as historic.
- Ferdinand Omanyala participated in the bidding process starting in 2022 and expressed relief and pride when Kenya won the hosting rights for 2029.
- Kenya co-hosted the 2025 African Nations Championship and will be one of three countries hosting the Afcon in 2024.
- Hosting the World Athletics Championships will lead to upgraded tracks and new facilities in Kenya, benefiting the country over the long term.
