Kipyegon Bett dead at 26: Former world junior 800m champion dies after short illness

FORMER junior world 800m world champion Kipyegon Bett has passed away aged 26.

The Kenyan has died following a short illness.

The runner had been in and out of hospital with a liver problem, his sister shared.

Purity Kirui told BBC Sport Africa: “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.

“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.”

Bett was a promising runner in his youth and followed up his junior world championship success by winning worlds bronze in London in 2017.

But a year later Bett was hit with a four-year doping ban and he struggled on his return, with his sister revealing he “started drinking a lot”.

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..

The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.