The Magical Kenya brand was once again on the global map thanks to the World Under20 Championship held in Nairobi on 18th to 22nd August 2021.

Kenya was ranked on top of other countries topping the medal charts with 16 medals; 8 Gold 1 Silver and 7 bronze. Ethiopia came in second with a total of 12 medals ahead of Jamaica who garnered a total of 11 medals. Kenya also headed the placing table with 128 points ahead of Ethiopia’s 111 and Jamaica’s 100.

The country’s win comes hot on the heels of the just concluded Tokyo Japan Olympics where Kenyan took the first slot in the African continent and 19th globally.

The event also known as the World Junior Championships, is held after every two years and attracts participants from across the world. It pits together athletes qualifying as juniors (born no earlier than 1 January 2002) as they compete in various track and field disciplines.

Kenya’s tourism destination marketing agency, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO Dr. Betty Radier said that sport events were proving to be an important avenue of profiling the destination to the world as well as reassuring visitors of safety while in the destination.

“We have been lucky as a destination to so far host four international events in a span of four months even as the world struggles with the Covid-19 pandemic. The Magical Kenya Open, the Kenya Savanna classic both under the European tour, the WRC Safari rally and now the World Athletics Under-20. We don’t take this for granted and that’s the reason why as destination marketers, we have decided to make sure that we make use of these opportunities,” said Dr. Radier.

Athletics Kenya President Lt. Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei says the hosting of the event was a confirmation of country’s position to host international athletics while noting the tidings that come along with it.

 “This event has supported the hospitality industry through accommodation as well as tours of the country soon after the event. Additionally, the event was also key to profiling the destination to the world thanks to the huge number of people who were following the event globally,” said Tuwei.

Later in the year, Kenya is expected to host the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in October and the East Africa Safari Rally in November.