Elias Makori is a Kenyan journalist with a proven track record at Nation Media Group, the largest independent media group in East and Central Africa. A member of the IAAF Press Commission for eight years and the World Athletics Media Operations Advisory Group, he was named IAAF World Journalist of the Year in 2012, the first and only African journalist to date to win this award. Elias Makori was recently promoted to Media Delegate by World Athletics.
A professional journalist with previous positions in newsrooms in Kenya, you were recently promoted to media delegate by World Athletics. What is the mission of this new role?
The role and responsibilities of World Athletics Press Delegate/ Liaison are as follows:
- to co-operate on preparations of Wanda Diamond League Media Guidelines;
- to travel to the meetings of Wanda Diamond League 2025 assigned to by World Athletics;
- to monitor and evaluate the Media Operations and all the services provided to media at the meeting of Wanda Diamond League 2025 assigned to;
- to prepare a written evaluation report from the meetings assigned to and attended in person to the World Athletics Media Operations after the meeting;
- to co-operate with other Press Delegates assigned by World Athletics throughout the season;
How do you plan to collaborate with the African press, which isn't always present at major international events?
It is important to equip the African Press, and indeed global press, on information and content from the World Athletics’ Wanda Diamond League and the Continental Tour competitions by ensuring that the Media Portal for these events is populated with useful information for journalists both on-site and off-site.
Another important port of call for journalists not on-location is the ‘Remote Mixed Zone’ which offers an opportunity to journalists covering these events remotely to interact with the athletes virtually and ask questions.
Training of African athletics journalists under the World Athletics Media Development Programme (MDP) is also an important area for the development of Africa’s athletics journalists.
For instance, ahead of the Absa Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on May 31, 2025, there will be training for athletics photographers which comes soon after two similar training workshops for athletics commentators and journalists were held in Nairobi in 2022.
We hope to have more similar seminars to mentor and motivate young African athletics journalists, event presenters and commentators.
A few years ago, prestigious competitions like the GOLDEN LEAGUE were well-attended in Africa. Today, television broadcasts are rare. What needs to be done to enable African television stations, which suffer from a lack of resources, to secure broadcasting rights?
Modern-day broadcasting rights are extremely expensive and with African television stations struggling to stay afloat financially, it is indeed difficult for them to buy these rights and recoup their investment.
Partnerships with rights holders and World Athletics that will ease the burden on these broadcasters would be important. Such partnerships can include initiatives by World Athletics to secure broadcast partners/ sponsors that can help defray the costs of these rights and make them easily accessible, especially for FTA (free-to-air) national broadcasters.
You were in Botswana for the Gaborone Grand Prix. How was this first experience?
The experience was fantastic! The people of Botswana are passionate about track and field and the “Tebogo effect” is being felt following home boy Letsile Tebogo’s success at the Paris Olympic Games where he won gold in the 200m and was part of the silver medal-winning Botswana 4x400m relay team.
Tebogo and other Botswana sprints stars like Bayapo Ndori, Busang Kebinatshipi, Anthony Pasela and others before them like Isaac Makwala and Amantle Montsho have motivated a whole generation and the effects of these were felt at the National Stadium during the Botswana Golden Grand Prix on April 12.
The presence in the stadium of Botswana’s Head of State, His Excellency Duma Gideon Boko, also confirmed Government support and was a great way to build up towards the 2026 World Athletics Relays Championships that will be hosted by Botswana.
It was my first time in Gaborone and I was impressed by the friendly, athletics-loving people.
Also, meeting and interacting with Botswana’s Head of State, His Excellency Duma Gideon Boko, alongside Sports Minister, Hon. Mr Jacob Kelebeng, and Sports Permanent Secretary, Hon. Ms. Nancy Neo Chengeta, was truly special.
It was a fantastic job by the Meet Director Mr Glody Dube and his amazing team, including Press Chief Calistus Kolantsho, and I can’t wait to be back again in 2026 for the Botswana Golden Grand Prix on April 25, 2026, and the World Athletics Relays on May 2-3, 2026!!
What does this new path as a media delegate represent in your professional career?
I have worked in the newsroom, from the position of Reporter to Sports Editor and Managing Editor (Sports) for a total of 33 years at both the Standard Group and Nation Media Group in Kenya, and I also served as a member of the World Athletics Press Commission and Media Operations Advisory Group for over 10 years. I believe that my experience over these three decades will help me to share with and mentor journalists covering athletics. The role of World Athletics Press Delegate/ Liaison has, therefore, come at the right time in my professional career.
My career is now at a time in which I feel I need to share my experience and mentor the young ones, and the role of World Athletics Press Delegate/ Liaison will offer me an opportunity to put my experience into practice in ensuring that media operations around World Athletics events that I’m assigned to are of the highest quality and that journalists covering our sport receive the best support to ensure they tell great stories and work in ideal conditions.
Most importantly, I will also engage with the athletes themselves and instill in them the importance of good media relations and tell them why they need to engage more with the media to both enhance their personal brands and also get closer to their fans as the media play an important role as a bridge and window between the athletes and their fans.
