Former World under-20 athletics champion Kipyegon Bett has died aged 26 in Bomet, Kenya, following a short illness.
The 800m specialist won his junior world title in 2016 and then took bronze at the senior World Championships in London the following year.
However, his career was halted in 2018 when he was handed a four-year doping ban and he struggled on his return.
“He was complaining of stomach pains for about a month. The doctors said he had a liver problem and had been in and out of hospital,” his sister Purity Kirui told BBC Sport Africa.
Athletics Kenya official Barnaba Korir described Bett as “one of the most talented half-milers” in the world and a “polite, easy-going and extremely amiable” athlete.
Bett was one of Kenya’s high-profile athletes sanctioned for anti-doping violations by the Athletics Integrity Unit.
The runner was suspended in August 2018 for refusing to submit a sample and he subsequently tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO).
Kirui, a 3,000m steeplechase runner who won Commonwealth gold in 2014, said being absent from the track had an adverse effect on Bett, who was 20 at the time of his ban.
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