Kenya’s former 400 Meters Hurdles World Champ Nicholas Bett died in a car accident aged 28, the East African country’s sports ministry said on Wednesday.
The Kenyan Sprinter died instantly in the crash that occurred in Nandi, located to the north-west of the capital Nairobi.
He had just returned to the country from the 21st African Athletics Championship held in Asaba in Nigeria.
The athlete’s family and Nandi County police commander Patrick Wambani confirmed the incident.
Bett made history in China after becoming the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in a short distance race at the world stage.
He won the 400-meters hurdles finals at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing in a world leading time of 47.79 seconds.
Bett became only the second African to win the 400-metres Hurdles event after Zambia’s Samuel Matete did it in 1991.
