Coe says Kenya fully supports preps for 2029 Nairobi event

World Athletics President Sabastian Coe (c) with AK officials during a press briefing at Eldoret International Airport on Wednesday. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has said the global federation has received assurance from the Kenyan government of full support as preparations for the 2029 Nairobi World Championships kick off.

Coe said after meeting Kenyan President William Ruto at the Eldoret State Lodge on Wednesday evening that World Athletics and the Kenyan government had agreed to seamless preparations for the 2029 international event.

The World Athletics boss said he spoke to President Ruto on what he described as the extraordinary opportunities that the championships will offer not just to athletes but to Kenyans in general.

“The fact that the championship is not just coming to Kenya but to Africa for the first time is a proud moment for both the country and the continent,” Coe said during a media briefing at the Eldoret International Airport.

He said Ruto assured World Athletics of his full support in the preparations for Nairobi29.

“I was pleased to receive from him (the President) the full support and commitment to working in tandem with all our teams and he pledged that he will be there to support in any way. The most important reason (for the visit) is to celebrate the fact that Nairobi will be the proud host of the World Athletics Championships in 2029,” said Coe.

He added: “We both agreed that we will work together in harmony as one team to deliver a very complicated project, which is the World Championships.”

Coe also met the top leadership of Athletics Kenya, led by its president Jackson Tuwei and Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya, teams which he said were crucial in the establishment of the Nairobi29 Local Organising Committee (LOC).

“It was important that I spend time talking to all the parties who are going to be involved in the successful delivery of the championship,” he said.

The 2029 bid, Coe recalled, was the most competitive round since the inception of the World Athletics Championships in 1983 because it involved four outstanding cities including the winner (Nairobi), Munich (the 2031 host) and previous hosts London (2017) and Rome (1987).

According to Coe, Kenya should expect increasing numbers of athletes from across the globe trooping to high altitude training bases as part of their preparation in the lead-up to 2029.

He said those athletes will be looking to acclimatise to the Kenyan environment ahead of the championships.

“I can’t think of any reason why athletes will not want to spend time in the high-altitude training regions of Kenya in the lead-up to a championship. If you are an athlete and you want to prepare for a championship, you have to acclimatise. When I was an athlete, I did the same,” Coe added.

There are more to come for Africa in addition to the Nairobi29 and previous competitions, including the recently concluded World Athletics Relays Championships in Gaborone, Botswana, and the Nairobi World Under-20 Championships (2021), Nairobi World Under-18 Championships in 2017 and the 2017 Kampala World Cross Country Championships, among others.

“We are committed to creating more competition opportunities in Africa. Together with many federations across the continent, we are in active discussions about creating an African circuit,” Coe said.

President Ruto said in a statement after the meeting with Coe that Kenya would deploy the required resources for a historic championship.

“I gave my personal commitment and that of the Government of Kenya that we will deploy all resources available to ensure that the 2029 event is a success,” Ruto said.

He went on to state: “Additionally, the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, the venue of the championships, is undergoing major upgrades ahead of AFCON 2027 and will be further improved for the athletics event.”

Ruto further said that he appreciated the World Athletics Council for awarding Kenya the 2029 World Championships hosting rights.

[e-mail]