The former 400M Hurdles' World Champion is said to have died in a car crash in oLessos, Nandi.
The former 400M Hurdles' World Champion is said to have died in a car crash in oLessos, Nandi.
Nicholas Bett, 2015 Beijing 400m Hurdles World Champion, dies aged 28 following a car crash.
BBC News Text:
Kenya's former 400m hurdles world champion Nicholas Bett has died aged 28, following a car crash on Wednesday.
Bett had just returned from the Africa Championships in Nigeria when he died in Nandi, north west Kenya.
In 2015, he made history in China by becoming the first Kenyan to win a world gold at a distance shorter than 800m.
He was a two-time African bronze medallist and his twin brother Haron Koech is also a hurdler.
Athletics Kenya confirmed Bett's death on Twitter, while Kenyan sports minister Rashid Echesa tweeted his condolences to the Bett family.
Whoa that's really sad
2015 World 400m hurdles champ Nicholas Bett sadly passed away in a road accident in Kenya
RIP Champ
NO! He made us so proud winning the 400 H. I know he was determined to regain his 2015 form which dipped after he left his South African base and coach to return home. Brutal, brutal news. R.I.P.
His magnum opus:
RIP
RIP
This is very sad. Traffic and driving is terribly bad in Kenya. The country needs better laws about driving. The list of Kenyan athletes felled by traffic mishaps is a calamity. Poor Nicholas. R.I.P.
Mwenga Jean wrote:
This is very sad. Traffic and driving is terribly bad in Kenya. The country needs better laws about driving. The list of Kenyan athletes felled by traffic mishaps is a calamity. Poor Nicholas. R.I.P.
From an article I read, it seemed to imply that it was more due to poor road conditions, as he lost control when he hit a bump.
Traveled to western Kenya in 2007 for a community service project and I know from personal experience on how bumpy and covered in potholes some of those rural roads are (and these were the "highways") and many of the roads that branch off the highways aren't paved.
It is still a terrible loss to the athletic community. RIP Nicholas.
El Keniano would please write me to this adress. Kuna kitu nataka kukuuliza. It would be very much appreciated patricknda@hotmail.com
Rest in peace Bett
Mawa !
Very sad. This is a small point compared to the death of a young and inspiring athlete, but the wording in the description on the main page is inaccurate. Julius Sang won an individual bronze in the 1972 Olympic 400, and Kenyan teams medaled in the long relay in 1968 and 1972. The BBC article is accurate to the best of my knowledge
Subway Surfers wrote:
His magnum opus:
https://youtu.be/gINVlqKnqpA
What an incredible race from lane 9! That is why I still love athletics.
Such a tragic loss. Somewhat of a breakthrough, inspiring athlete from Kenya to win in a non-distance event. Value and be grateful for the time you have.
Sad news. Car crashes are very common in Kenya, but what really stuck out when I was looking at how long medalists from 1976 and 1980 lived (or are living), I found five male 1976 medalists who died in car crashes.
Kenya's death rate in traffic accidents is 29/100,000, which is near the worst (Libya at 73 is much worse than any other country, then comes Thailand and Malawi at 36 and 35), more than 14 times the rate in Norway.