DNK International By Our Sports,Correspondent,Nairobi
At 55, veteran sports journalist and Editor Elias Obanyi Makori has built a career spanning more than three decades, rising from a young reporter to one of the country’s most influential sports editor.
Makori earned international recognition as the first African recipient of the prestigious World Athletics Journalist of the Year award.
Born on December 26, 1970, Makori began his journalism career after obtaining a Diploma in Journalism in 1991 at the National Social Training Institute (NSTI), now St Augustine University of Tanzania.
He later pursued Sports Management, including postgraduate studies at Barcelona’s Johan Cruyff Institute of Sports Studies, where he earned a Master’s degree in Sports Management.
Earlier records seen by Daily News Kenya-International also show that he undertook undergraduate studies in Sports Management at Moi University in Eldoret between 2012 and 2016.
His professional journey began at The East African Standard (Standard newspaper), where he worked as a sports correspondent from 1992 to 1993 before joining Nation Media Group as a sports writer in 1993.
He rose through the ranks to become Deputy Sports Editor of the Daily Nation between 1999 and 2004 and Sports Editor from 2004.
He later became Managing Editor, Sports, and subsequently served as Regional Editor for the North Rift, based in Eldoret, before returning to senior sports editorial leadership.
He left Nation Media Group in June 2024 after an extraordinary 32 year career.
At Nation newspaper, Makori became synonymous with the development and professionalisation of sports journalism.
He covered some of the biggest sporting events in the world, including the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, World Athletics Championships, World Cross Country Championships, World Half Marathon Championships, Volleyball World Cup, Cricket World Cup, African Nations Cup and major international marathons in Nairobi, Rotterdam, Frankfurt, London and Amsterdam.
His greatest professional recognition came in 2012 when he was named IAAF World Journalist of the Year, an award presented by then IAAF President Sebastian Coe in Barcelona.
World Athletics records describe him as the first African journalist to win the honour.
His other recognition has included three Kenya Sports Journalist of the Year awards, Africa Media Personality of the Year honours and Africa Boxing Journalist of the Year recognition.
Makori’s influence, however, has extended beyond writing stories. He has served in several international and continental sports-media structures, including the IAAF Press Commission, the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) executive committee and the Africa Sports Journalists Union.
He has also been involved in media advisory and development structures within World Athletics and has trained journalists in Kenya and across Africa.
In 2021, he was appointed to the World Athletics Heritage Plaque Panel of Experts, an advisory body concerned with identifying and celebrating significant athletics competitions, athletes, performances, venues and cultural landmarks.
In 2026, the Confederation of African Athletics reported that Makori had been promoted to the position of World Athletics Media Delegate.
In that role, he has been involved in media operations at major international meetings and has also participated in World Athletics Media Academy programmes aimed at developing young African sports journalists.
His current international role has placed him in a unique position as Kenya prepares to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships in Nairobi.
Makori who hails from Kebirigo in Nyamira county and a cousin to Kakamega Catholic Diocese Bishop Dr.Joseph Obanyi was recently involved in helping tell Kenya’s story during the bid process, including work on the presentation video that featured athletics legends from Kenya and Ethiopia and a message from President William Ruto.
A recent account of the bid says Makori had been working towards the dream for years and had, while serving on the World Athletics Press Commission in 2012, proposed that Kenya pursue the hosting of the 2017 World Youth Championships as part of a longer term pathway towards eventually staging the senior World Championships.
Nairobi subsequently hosted the World Under-20 Championships in 2021 before Kenya secured the 2029 senior championships.
Makori has summed up the significance of that journey in simple terms: “It was a dream incubated 14 years ago.”
He also described the message from State House during the 2029 bid campaign as “the game-changer.”
His experience could be particularly valuable to Kenyan journalists as preparations for Nairobi 2029 gather pace.
Having worked both inside newsrooms and within international sports governing structures, Makori understands the two sides of major event coverage: the journalist’s need for accurate, timely and independent information and the organiser’s need for efficient accreditation, media facilities, mixed zone access, press conferences, transport, communications and digital services.
He has already demonstrated this commitment to developing the next generation.
Makori has also lectured and conducted journalism seminars at institutions including USIU, the Kenya School of Aviation and Related Studies and the University of Groningen, while also taking part in media seminars organised by the Confederation of African Athletics and World Athletics.
In 2026, he was among experts involved in a World Athletics Media Academy programme in Botswana that brought together young sports journalists from different African countries.
Makori has consistently spoken about his desire to strengthen sports journalism.
During an interview marking his 25 years at Nation, he said his motivation was seeing sports journalism in Kenya grow and that he wanted to nurture upcoming journalists.
He also said he had always fought for sports journalism to gain recognition both in the newsroom and globally.
His philosophy was also reflected in his explanation of why he remained at Nation for more than three decades: “I always focus on delivering on my journalistic calling and raising the profile of the Kenyan sportsman and woman.”
He added that Kenyan athletes had given him something positive to write about and celebrate.
Makori’s influence has been acknowledged beyond athletics.
In 2023, following the death of veteran broadcaster Sean Cardovillis, Makori described his longtime colleague as an “astute, committed and honest sports journalist” and an exceptionally talented broadcaster, while noting the immense contribution Cardovillis had made to Kenyan sports journalism.
At Nation Media Group, his colleagues and senior management celebrated his long service before his departure in 2024.
He had become the organisation’s longest serving editorial staffer, having worked through several generations of newsroom leadership and witnessed enormous changes in Kenyan journalism, from print dominated newsrooms to converged print, television, radio and digital operations.
Away from the newsroom, Makori has also been involved in national sports administration and media development.
However his career has not been without difficult moments.
Recalling his years as an international reporter, Makori once spoke about losing a Tanzanian journalist colleague in Khartoum in 1994 after the colleague became ill and could not access medication.
Despite the shock, he said he gathered himself and completed his journalistic assignment.
In June 2024, Makori announced his departure from Nation Media Group with the words, “Whatever has a beginning certainly has an end,” expressing gratitude for his long association with the media house.
His exit did not mark the end of his journalism career.
He established Pura Vida Sports Africa, where he serves as founding Managing Editor while continuing to write, travel and contribute to international sports-media development.
For Kenyan sports journalists, Makori’s most important legacy may ultimately be less about the awards he has won than the professional path he has opened for others.
His career has demonstrated that sports journalism can progress from routine match reporting into specialist international journalism, newsroom leadership, sports management, media operations and global sports governance.
As Nairobi prepares for the 2029 World Athletics Championships, Makori’s combination of newsroom experience, international athletics knowledge, event media management and mentorship of young journalists places him among the experienced Kenyan voices capable of helping the country’s media fraternity understand the scale and demands of covering a global championship on home soil.
His journey from a young sports reporter in the early 1990s to an internationally recognised World Athletics Media Delegate mirrors the growth of Kenyan sports journalism itself and Nairobi 2029 could become another major chapter in that story.
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🗓️ [Daily News Kenya-International@September 19,2026]
