Purity Kirui, the elder sister to the late Kenyan athlete Kipyegon Bett, has disclosed that the 26-year-old struggled with depression after he was handed a doping ban in 2018. Bett passed away early this week in his hometown of Bomet, after being hospitalized for a week.
According to initial family reports, Bett’s vital organs had apparently failed, leading to his death, with further reports linking his health struggles to alcoholism.
Kirui, who is also an athlete, told Telecomasia.net:
He had started drinking a lot and became addicted. He went into a depression after his doping ban and despite efforts to try to help him, it was difficult. We had even tried to book him into a rehab center, but it was difficult to get him to attend. When his ban ended, we tried to help him get back to athletics, but again, it was not so successful.
The 26-year-old, the World Junior Champion in 800m from 2016 and the 2017 world bronze medalist was banned for four years in 2018 after his samples tested positive for banned substance Erythropoietin (EPO), a common drug that has seen many Kenyan athletes nabbed.
His ban ended in 2018, and all efforts to get him back to athletics failed. Further reports of his family indicate that Bett struggled financially after his accounts were frozen following the doping ban.
It was really difficult for him to get back to athletics. Before his death, we wanted to try again but, unfortunately, it was not possible.
Athletes and athletics fans in Kenya have mourned the two-lap race specialist as a talent gone too soon.
