London misses out as 2029 World Athletics Championships awarded to Nairobi

London has lost out to Nairobi in its bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, which will be held in Africa for the first time.

The Kenyan capital was named as host city by World Athletics (WA) on Tuesday.

WA president Sebastian Coe: "Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic", adding that athletics "is woven into the fabric of Kenya", which has long been a superpower in distance running.

Mr Coe said the winning city "has demonstrated emphatically that this is their moment".

Salim Mvurya, the country's minister responsible for sports, said in Kenya "running is more than competition, it is our national story".

London, which last hosted the biennial event in 2017, missed out, along with Rome, while Munich was named as host city for the following staging in 2031. Next year's championships take place in Beijing.

London's bid, supported by the government and the Greater London Authority, was led by Athletic Ventures, the joint venture between UK Athletics, London Marathon Events and The Great Run Company.

Jack Buckner, CEO of UK Athletics and co-founder of Athletic Ventures, said: "We are deeply disappointed that the 2029 World Athletics Championships will not be held in London. We believed we had an outstanding bid which would genuinely take the sport to new levels.

"The UK is an incredible host for major sports events and the British public loves athletics... although today's announcement hasn't gone our way, we will review and regroup. We know the world's athletes love competing here and we'll continue to explore further opportunities to make that happen."

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While awarding the championships to Kenya recognises its status as a dominant force in athletics, the decision is also likely to intensify scrutiny of the country's history of doping offences among elite runners.

Marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich is serving a three-year doping ban after joining the many elite-level Kenyan runners suspended over the past decade.

(c) Sky News 2026: London misses out as 2029 World Athletics Championships awarded to Nairobi