Die Zeit37 minutes agoSports1 min readGermanyView original

World Athletics Championships 2029 and 2031: Tough competition for Munich

World Association President Sebastian Coe praises convincing offers for the awarding of the World Athletics Championships. Munich competes with London, Rome and Nairobi, among others.

athletics Munich Sebastian Coe

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Munich has tough competition from London, Rome and Nairobi when it comes to hosting the World Athletics Championships.
World Association President Sebastian Coe emphasizes the quality of the offers before the decision on Tuesday.

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Why It Matters

The 2029 and 2031 World Athletics Championships will be awarded on Tuesday. In Germany, World Cups were previously held in Stuttgart in 1993 and in Berlin in 2009.

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In the fight for the next World Athletics Championships, the German candidate Munich has tough competition. There are “excellent, really convincing offers on the table,” said World Association President Sebastian Coe shortly before the award. “We have a committee that has examined all offers and will now make its recommendation.”

London? Rome? Nairobi? Or maybe Munich?

The 2029 and 2031 World Championships will be awarded on Tuesday. In addition to Munich, London, Rome and Nairobi were mentioned as other applicants from various quarters. If the Kenyan capital wins the bid, it would be the first World Cup in Africa. When asked by the German Press Agency, Coe emphasized his independence. However, he had stated in advance that he had “best memories” of Munich. World Championships took place in Germany in 1993 (Stuttgart) and 2009 (Berlin).

The next host for the second edition of the Ultimate Championship as a new format is also open. The same goes for the future, but still compact, program, which is intended to attract more young viewers. Unlike a World Championships with more than a dozen sessions, it had to be reduced to 26 individual and two mixed relay events for the three evenings in Budapest. This provoked criticism from disciplines that were not taken into account.

“There were inevitable discussions about the fact that some disciplines were not included,” said the 69-year-old Coe. “But I pointed out that it’s not set in stone.”

Ultimate Championship as an “Innovation Hub”?

The German Athletics Association was able to celebrate the victory of hammer thrower Merlin Hummel right at the start. “From the DLV perspective, Merlin Hummel’s victory at the start was a special highlight,” said DLV board member Kristin Behrens when asked by the German Press Agency.

“The Ultimate Championship can be an important innovation hub for the further development of athletics: compact, boldly staged, with new forms of content and visualization and the athletes visibly at the center,” explained Behrens. What is now crucial is to “take a close look at what worked and what should be improved, what is sustainable and what impulses we can take from it.”