Former World Athletics championships gold-medallist Nicholas Bett dies in car crash

Former World Athletics Championships gold-medallist Nicholas Bett dies in car crash aged 28 while back home in Kenya

  • Former 400m hurdler Nicholas Bett has died in a car crash at home in Kenya
  • The 28-year-old had won a gold medal at the 2015 World Athletics in Beijing
  • Bett became the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in a short-distance race

Former World Athletics Championships gold-medallist Nicholas Bett has been killed in a car crash aged 28 back home in Kenya. 

Bett died near Nandi County, Kenya as he returned from the African Continental Championships in Nigeria the day before.

The hurdler had become the first Kenyan ever to win a short-distance race on the world stage when he claimed gold in the 400m hurdles at Beijing 2015.

Former World Atheltics Championships gold-medallist Nicholas Bett has died in a car crash

Bett made his breakthrough at the 2011 Kenyan Athletics Championships and his strong form saw him selected for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where he missed out narrowly on the 400m hurdles final. 

At the African Championships in Marrakesh, Morocco he secured two bronze medals – in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay with his Kenyan team-mates.

Undoubtedly the crowning glory of Bett’s career was at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing where he upset the odds to finish with a gold medal. 

After scraping through to the final, finishing in the last qualification spot in the semi-final, Bett secured a gold-medal finish with a time of 47.79 seconds.  

Bett also appeared at the 2016 Rio Olympics as the reigning world champion but suffered disappointment as he crashed out in the first round. 

Big things had been expected of the hurdler but he tapped the final hurdle after miscalculating the leap to miss out on the final.  

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