2029 World Championships: Why Usain Bolt’s Longstanding Records Could Be Under Threat in Nairobi

Nairobi will play host to the 2029 World Championships and already, predictions are being made over the historic feats that could potentially be witnessed.

Kenya’s capital won the bid to host the 2029 World Championships on Tuesday, after beating Munich, hosts of 2031, Rome and London, making it the first time Africa will stage the global event.

With the celebrations continuing in Kenya and Africa, experts are already predicting a possible historic achievement, among them Usain Bolt’s longstanding world records being broken.

Bolt set an incredible 9.58 second 100m world record in Berlin in 2009 and no one has come close since. However, there are those who feel Nairobi in 2029, which will be 20 years later, offers sprinters a chance to bring that record down.

“Getting all of the world's best sprinters, fully peaked, at a Nairobi Worlds at 5,289 feet of elevation in 2029 might be the best opportunity we get to see 9.58/19.19 and 10.49/21.34 broken,” renown track and field journalist Jonathan Gault of LetsRun posted on social media.

“Men's 100/200 WRs have stood since '09, women's since '88.”

The main reason why Nairobi is seen as ideal for a new world record is because of its high altitude. The Kenyan capital sits at an elevation of approximately 1,795 metres above sea level, conditions that allow sprinters to run faster.

At high altitudes, the air is thinner which decreases aerodynamic drag on sprinters, allowing them to run significantly quicker in short-distance events.

There have been faster times in Nairobi in recent years, among them Ferdinand Omanyala’s African record of 9.77 seconds, set in September 2021 at the Kip Keino Classic.

Bolt also holds the 200m world record of 19.19 seconds, also set in Berlin, but it remains to be seen if the current calibre of sprinters will take advantage of the conditions in Nairobi or if new ones will emerge.