Kipyegon Bett, the 26-year-old Kenyan athlete who on Sunday mid-day passed away while battling an illness at the Tenwek Hospital in Bomet County, underwent a rough patch in his career despite rising off from a promising start.[โฆ]CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLEโถ
The athlete, who made achievements just two years after kicking off his career, had his dreams shattered after what he revealed was a scheme that saw his management throw him to the wolves by failing to act in his doping case six years ago.
Bett bagged an 800m bronze medal in a London race in 2017. He also achieved another medal at the world junior U20ย World Athletics Championship and his career was rising to new heights only for him to stumble upon a doping ban.
He became the subject of global sporting debate in 2017 at the World Athletics Championships in London after winning a bronze medal in the 800 m race before the World Athletics preferred two charges against him when he was just 20 years old.
Kenyan athlete Kipyegon Bett.
The first charge was for breaking the anti-doping rules. The athlete, however, implicated his management company accusing it of getting involved in a scheme to throw him under the bus. He added that he missed a sporting event and that his management was aware that he was participating in another event but did not update the organisers of his prior engagement.
โโThere 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 donโt know,โโ he stated in an interview with CGTN 6 years ago.
However, the accused company refuted the claims maintaining that the athlete was solely responsible for the woes he faced.
โโThis information is known by the athlete and they have to stick to that as they cannot turn around and start to blame everybody as it’s their responsibility as a person which they cannot turn to blame on anybody,โโ the company rebutted at the time.
Soon after, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) accused Bett of refusing to give his bodily samples for testing contrary to the rules. He was accused of missing tests multiple times.
โโThe only test that I missed was that where a guy came alone and according to Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) rules. There is no way one person can come to test you. So I did not refuse but asked them to come with a witness who would, in the event of any oddity, justify the accusations,โโ Bett told the media.
He was later also charged afterwards with a more serious doping case where he reportedly injected himself with erythropoietin (EPO), a high-performance-enhancing substance that banned by world sporting bodies.
The athlete, however, denied the allegations, maintaining that his first time interacting with the name was from the accusation reports that had been presented to him. He was consequently suspended from athletics and his case was referred to a tribunal that would investigate and mediate on the matter.
He revealed an intrigue involving his management after they asked him to accept the accusations despite the fact that he was clean and had not used any harmful substance. He added that accepting the accusations would land him in trouble and after he refused, the ban went on to paralyze his career.
โโMy management tells me that I should accept the accusations and admit that I used the doping substances and yet I know myself and that I did not use anything,โโ he responded.
Bett made a comeback to the track in 2022 and made a performance appearance at the 400m hurdles in the Kenya Track Meeting where he finished third since then did not have any remarkable races that he afterward participated in before the curtains fell on him.
Kipyegon Bett during a past racing eventโฆCLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES>>>
