Kipyegon Bett, a 26-year-old Kenyan athlete, passed away on Sunday at Tenwek Hospital in Bomet County after battling an illness.
His career, which began with great promise, was ultimately overshadowed by controversy and challenges. Bett’s rise in athletics was meteoric. Just two years after starting his career, he secured a bronze medal in the 800m event at the 2017 World Championships in London. He had also previously medaled at the World Junior U20 Championships marking him as a rising star in the sport. However, his trajectory was soon derailed by a doping scandal that would come to define his career. The controversy erupted shortly after Bett’s bronze medal win in London.
World Athletics levied two charges against him for violating anti-doping rules. Bett, in turn, accused his management company of failing to properly defend him, alleging they were complicit in a scheme to implicate him. He claimed that his management had neglected to update organizers about his whereabouts, resulting in missed tests and subsequent charges. In an interview with CGTN, Bett stated, “There was another case about missing a disc of which my management did not update my whereabouts as I was in Eugene and Stockholm, so I am seeing that something is going on that I don’t know.”
The management company vehemently denied these accusations, asserting that Bett was solely responsible for his actions and compliance with anti-doping regulations. The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) accused Bett of refusing to provide bodily samples for testing, an allegation he denied. Bett maintained that he had not refused the test but had requested the presence of a witness, as per the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) guidelines. Subsequently, he faced a more serious charge involving the use of erythropoietin (EPO), a banned performance-enhancing substance.
Despite Bett’s protestations of innocence, claiming he had never even heard of EPO before the accusations, he was suspended from athletics and his case was referred to a tribunal for investigation. Bett revealed that his management had pressured him to admit to the accusations, which he steadfastly refused to do. This decision resulted in a ban that effectively paralyzed his career. Following his suspension, Bett attempted a comeback in 2022, competing in the 400m hurdles at the Kenya Track Meeting, where he finished third. However, he failed to achieve any notable results in subsequent competitions.
Bett’s untimely death has left the athletics community in mourning. His family discloses that he had been unwell for approximately a month before his passing. Initially treated as an outpatient at AIC Litein Hospital, he was later referred to Tenwek Hospital for further tests and treatment. His sister Purity Kirui, a 2014 Commonwealth Games 3,000m steeplechase champion, confirms that Bett had been vomiting blood due to damage to some of his internal organs.
