By Sana Haroon
World Champion Athlete Nicholas Kiplagat Bett died in a road crash in northwestern Kenya on Wednesday (August 8, 2018) at the age of 28.
Born on January 27, 1990, Nicholas Bett was the first Kenyan who won a Gold Medal in World Championships of 400m hurdles in 2015.
The accident took place in Nandi County of Kenya while he was returning from Continental Championship held in Nigeria. He died on the scene where his car veered off the road and rolled into a trench.
Nandi Police Commander and his family confirmed the tragic news of his death this morning. The Commander stated that he was alone at the time of the accident and his body was shifted to morgue in Eldoret. He further added that his car hit the bumps before landing in a ditch.
Nicholas Kiplagat Betta also won two bronze medals in African Championships in Athletics. He came third with a run of 50.39 seconds at the Kenya Athletics Championships in 2011. In Glasgow, he finished at 14th in 400mm hurdles in Commonwealth Games. In Australian games 2018, he came at 8th position
Nicholas Betta also won at Lappeenranta and Savo Games in Finland. At Kenya World Championship trials in 2015, his best of 48.29 seconds raised him to third at Global rankings.
The Kenyan Sports Minister Rashid Echesa expressed his condolence on the death of World Champion Nicholas Bett.
Former 400m hurdles World Champion Nicholas Bett has died in a road accident in Nandi County. On behalf of the sporting fraternity and @moscakenya I convey my sincerest condolences to his family .Rest in peace . pic.twitter.com/SUT5yaZAvC
— Rashid Echesa (@CSRashidEchesa) August 8, 2018
