Nicholas Bett

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Nicholas Bett
Athletics
Event400 metres hurdles
ClubTeam Kenya
Coached byVincent Mumo Kiilu
Medal record
Men's Athletics
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Beijing 400 m hurdles
African Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Marrakesh 400 m hurdles
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Marrakesh 4 × 400 m relay

Nicholas Kiplagat Bett (27 January 1990 – 8 August 2018) was a Kenyan track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres hurdles. His personal best for the event is 47.79 seconds. He was a world champion in the event, having won in 2015, and a two-time bronze medallist at the African Championships in Athletics. He died in a road accident in Kenya at the age of 28.

Career

His first outing at national level was in 2010, when he was a Kenyan junior finalist.[3] He made his breakthrough nationally at senior level with a run of 50.39 seconds to place third at the Kenyan Athletics Championships in 2011. He missed most of the 2012 season but returned in 2013 with runner-up finishes at both the national championships and world trials.[4] A new personal best of 49.70 seconds at the latter meet placed him 53rd globally for the season.[5]

Another runner-up finish at the national level earned him selection for both the

Boniface Mucheru.[7]

Bett began to compete on the international track and field circuit in 2015 and had wins at the

2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, Bett achieved his biggest result, winning the 400 metres hurdles event with a time of 47.79 seconds.[10] Bett's win was Kenya's first in the history of the World Championships, for an event shorter than 800 metres.[11] Bett's Beijing run was the fastest time for the distance in the whole of the 2015 season.[12]

Bett had a poor start to the 2016 season, with a season's best time of 49.31 going into the

2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[13] However, Bett was still considered one of the favourites for the 400 metres hurdles event, following his 2015 World Championships win.[14] However, he made a mistake in the preliminary round when he tripped over the 10th and final hurdle whilst in second place. He eventually finished last in the heat, but was disqualified anyway, and failed to reach the semifinal.[14]

Personal life

Bett's twin brother, Aron Koech, is also a 400 metres hurdler.[15]

Death

Bett died in a road accident near the town of

Toyota Prado SUV, which then hit a bump in the road and landed in a ditch, killing the athlete instantly.[17][18]

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2014 Commonwealth Games
Glasgow, United Kingdom
14th (h) 400 m hurdles 51.21
4 × 400 m relay DQ
African Championships
Marrakesh, Morocco
3rd 400 m hurdles 49.03
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:07.35
2015 World Championships
Beijing, China
1st 400 m hurdles 47.79
2016 Olympic Games
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
400 m hurdles DQ
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 8th 400 m hurdles 51.00
- 4 × 400 m relay DQ
African Championships
Asaba, Nigeria
3rd (h) 400 m hurdles 49.881
Source:[19]

1Did not finish in the final

References

  1. ^ "2018 CWG bio". Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Rio 2016 bio". Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  3. ^ "IAAF: Nicholas BETT | Profile". iaaf.org. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Nicholas Bett". Tilastopaja. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  5. International Association of Athletics Federations
    . Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Games Results for Nicholas Bett". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  7. ^ CAA /Maroc Telecom 19èmes Championnats d'Afrique d'Atléthisme Seniors. Marrakech2014. Retrieved on 2 August 2015.
  8. ^ Mutuota, Mutwiri (1 August 2015). ‘Fergie’ topples ‘King David’, Kiprop, Sum soar. Capital FM. Retrieved on 2015-08-02.
  9. ^ 400 Metres Hurdles - men - senior - outdoor - 2015. IAAF. Retrieved on 2 August 2015.
  10. ^ Ayodi, Ayumba (25 August 2015). "Nicholas Bett wins Kenya first ever 400m hurdles gold at Worlds". Daily Nation. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  11. ^ "Report: Men'S 400m Hurdles Final – IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015". IAAF. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  12. International Association of Athletics Federations
    . Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  13. ^ "PREVIEW: MEN'S 400M HURDLES – RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES". IAAF. 10 August 2016.
  14. ^ a b Stubbs, Roman (15 August 2016). "Kenya's world champion Nicholas Bett stumbles on final hurdle, fails to qualify for 400 meter". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  15. ^ Champion Bett out as twin brother Koech, Mucheru sail through
  16. ^ Matoke, Tom (8 August 2018). "Shock, grief as ex-World champ Nicholas Bett dies in tragic accident". Daily Nation.
  17. ^ a b "Former world 400m hurdles champion Nicholas Bett dies in car crash aged 28". The Guardian. Associated Press. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  18. ^ a b Gilpin, Andrew (8 August 2018). "Nicholas Bett dead: World Champion 400m hurdler dies after car crashes into a ditch". MSN.
  19. ^ "Nicholas Bett". IAAF.

External links