Kipyegon Bett, a former world under 20-athletics champion, died in Bomet, Kenya, at the age of 26 due to a brief illness.
The 800-metre specialist finished in first place in his junior world championship in 2016, and he finished third in the senior world championship the following year in London. In 2018, the athlete was given a four-year doping penalty which led to the end of his rising career, and upon his comeback, he struggled.
His sister, Purity Kirui, said: “He had been sick, complaining of stomach pains for about a month. The doctors said he had a liver problem and had been in and out of hospital… Last week we took him to hospital after he started vomiting blood and he was admitted. I went to see him [on Sunday] morning and he told me he was in pain.”
She added: “He told our dad, who is a pastor, to pray for him because he didn’t feel he would survive and after 12 noon he died. We tried everything to save him, but he left us. It’s very painful.”
According to Barnaba Korir, an official for Athletics Kenya, Bett is “one of the world’s most talented half-milers” and a “polite, easy-going, extremely amiable” athlete.
Anti-doping rule violations
Kipyegon Bett was one of the famous Kenyan athletes whom the Athletics Integrity Unit banned for anti-doping rule violations. He was suspended in August 2018 for refusing to submit a sample and subsequently tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO).
Her sister stated: “When Kipyegon was banned he started drinking a lot, wouldn’t eat well and suffered depression…We tried to help him stop drinking, but whenever we wanted to take him to rehab he would disappear from home for days.”
She further said: “I expected him to come back to athletics once his ban was over, but he couldn’t do so due to many challenges…. I think sometimes once an athlete is banned there’s some depression and getting into activities that cannot support an athletics career.”
Source: BBC