1.NICHOLAS BETT
Our No.1 spot goes to the one and only Nicholas Bett who surmounted all barriers across his path to emerge World Champion in an event dominated by the Americans. He came to the World Championships unheralded; a local champion at best, but Bett left Beijing a hero and conqueror.
The Kenyan has come a long way since the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where he couldn’t even make it to the final. He settled for two Bronze medals at the 2014 African Championships in Marrakech in the 400m Hurdles and 4x400m relay.
Bett showed that he was in form as he rallied to win his event at his country’s National Trials where he set a PB of 48.29s. Drawn in Lane 9 in the heats in Beijing, Bett steered clear of his opponents, winning the race in a time of 48.37s, which was the fastest time overall. He also inspired team mate, Boniface Mucheru to victory in Heat 2, setting a PB of 48.79s in the process.
Bett sailed through the semis with a 2nd place finish behind USA’s Michael Tinsley, clocking 48.54s. This set the stage for a mouthwatering encounter in the final as once more Bett stormed to victory with a WL of 47.79s, with Russia’s Denis Kudryavtsev coming 2nd with an NR of 48.05s as Jeffery Gibson of Bahamas finished 3rd with an NR 48.17s.
This feat earned him a place in Kenya’s history books as the first athlete in his country to win a World Championships GOLD medal in the 400m Hurdles. He is only the second African after Zambia’s Samuel Matete who did same at the 1991 edition of the championships in Tokyo. The world will be waiting to see more of Bett!
