Kenya’s Nicholas Bett, the 2015 world champion in the 400-metre hurdles, has been killed in a road accident.
Nandi County police commander Patrick Wambani said Bett, who was 28, was killed in the car crash early on Wednesday in Kenya’s high-altitude training region in the west of the country.
Bett won gold in the 400 hurdles at the world championships in Beijing.
He had only returned from the African championships in Nigeria on Monday.
Bett won gold in the 400 hurdles at the 2015 world championships in Beijing, a breakthrough victory in that event for Kenya, a powerhouse in middle- and long-distance events.
We regret to learn of the sudden demise of one of our top athletes, the 2015 400m Hurdles World Champion #NicholasKiplagatBett who represented Kenya in the just concluded Africa Championships. Our condolences to his family and the entire athletics fraternity @moscakenya @iaaforg pic.twitter.com/L40CSCP4ZC
— Athletics Kenya (AK) (@athletics_kenya) August 8, 2018
He also won bronze medals at the African championships in 2014 in the 400 hurdles and 4×400-metre relay.
Athletics Kenya said it sent condolences to Bett’s family.
Bett’s twin brother, Aron, is also an athlete and was part of the Kenyan 4×400 team that won gold at last week’s African championships.
Nicholas Bett did not run with that team.
