Kipkeino Classic to highlight 2025 World Athletics Continental Tour
By Kiplagat Sang, January 22, 2025
Kipkeino Classic will be among the events that will highlight this year’s World Athletics Continental Tour.
Set to be held on May 31, the Kipkeino Classic is among 13 meetings that will take place on five different continents. The classic will be held in Nairobi, although Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani is undergoing renovations, and for now, it is not clear that by then it will be ready for use.
Nyayo Stadium, an alternative venue, is also under renovation.
The gold-level actions will start on March 29 in Melbourne, Australia, where World Athlete of the Year Letsile Tebogo is due to compete. Two weeks later, the series will head to Tebogo’s home country, Botswana, with the event set to take place in Gaborone.
From there, Tokyo in Japan will host the Golden Grand Prix on May 12, and this will act as a dress rehearsal of sorts for the World Championships later in the year.
The next events will be hosted in Zagreb from May 22-24 before going to Bydgoszcz on May 30.
In the month of June, five meetings have been scheduled to take place; Los Angeles (8), Hengelo (9), Turku (17), New York (21), and Ostrava (24). This will be followed by a stop in Szekesfehervar on August 12, before Beijing hosts the final Continental Tour Gold meeting of the season on September 7.
The Beijing showpiece will come six days before the first day of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
“More than 200 meetings will feature in this year’s tour, which is divided into four levels—Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Challenger. The status of each meeting is determined by the quality of competition and prize money on offer.
“Last year, more than 20,000 athletes from almost 200 countries competed in the Continental Tour, setting one world record, 12 area records, 205 national records, and 7146 personal bests,” World Athletics said.
2025 Gold level meetings
29 March: Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne (AUS)
12 April: Botswana Continental Tour – Gaborone (BOT)
18 May: Golden Grand Prix – Tokyo (JPN)
22-24 May: Boris Hanzekovic Memorial – Zagreb (CRO)
30 May: Irena Szewinska Memorial – Bydgoszcz (POL)
31 May: Kip Keino Classic – Nairobi (KEN)
8 June: USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix – Los Angeles (USA)
9 June: FBK Games – Hengelo (NED)
17 June: Paavo Nurmi Games – Turku (FIN)
21 June: New York City Grand Prix – New York (USA)
24 June: Ostrava Golden Spike – Ostrava (CZE)
12 August: Istvan Gyulai Memorial – Szekesfehervar (HUN)
7 September: World Athletics Continental Tour – Beijing (CHN)