President Uhuru’s ‘magic’ word to Nicholas Bett before the historic 400m hurdles triumph

Bett during the historic run. [PHOTO: AFP]

It was a long wait for Africa until Nicholas Bett won the 400 metres hurdles in a global championship race, the feat previously achieved 43 years ago by Uganda’s John Akii-Bua, in the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Bett’s win was not just a personal and global achievement, but the fulfillment of a promise made to several people, starting with none other than the Head of State.

When the national team was introduced to President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani after the selections, Nicholas Bett received unusual attention from the President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Uhuru hugged Bett and then whispered to him.

His father, Joseph Boit, says he did not ask his son what the President had told him. But Bett’s mother, Esther Boit, was very curious.

“I wondered why the President singled out Bett from the whole team. Their conversation was the first thing I asked him about when he came home from Nairobi,” Mrs Boit told The Standard on Sunday in an interview at the family’s home in Lemook Village, Uasin Gishu, yesterday.

Sibling champions

Whether by design or default, Esther says, the President had a special message for her son: “Young man, remember the Kenyan flag must always fly high. That’s what I expect from you.”

Bett promised to play his part.

And he did not disappoint as he sprinted ahead of the star-studded field, winning Kenya’s first gold medal in 400m hurdles at the Birds Nest Stadium in Beijing, China, on Tuesday evening.

With that win, he also fulfilled a promise to his parents to bring home the gold.

Bett and his brother, Haron Koech, represented Kenya in the event, but the elder sibling bowed out in the semi-finals.

“Before the two boys left home, Bett told us he would not come back empty-handed and that he felt strong enough to finish in the top three. At first, I didn’t think about it too much, but after two days, his statement began to ring in my mind. Bett had never vowed to do anything special, but this time he jokingly warned Koech to watch out,” the runners’ mother remembers.

 But Boit, a former sprinter and long jumper, says he was confident from the beginning that his son would perform well.

“He went to the world championships while ranked fourth in the 400m hurdles in the world this season. I had hopes that he would win a medal,” says the father.

However, he admits being concerned about Koech, who was on the come-back trail after a two-year calf strain injury.

“Koech is faster and even beats Bett sometimes. But Bett has a slight advantage in that he is very good at clearing the hurdles,” he says. “Just wait; Koech could pull another surprise in the Rio Olympic Games next year.”

The two young men have come a long way, but their mother says they still wake each other for training and enjoy the same diet of traditional vegetables and ugali.

“I noticed their talent and their love for athletics when they were young. When Bett was 12-years old, he could challenge Koech on the racetrack. They prepared a track around the compound and I made hurdles for them using twigs,” says Boit, the Athletics Kenya Uasin Gishu County branch vice chairman.

“I encouraged them to take up hurdles because I knew they could make it. This is a technical event that needs a lot of preparation and few people excel in it.”

The brothers’ promise was evident to outsiders, too.

Poor show

“After they sat their Form Four exams, I received a call from the Kenya Defence Forces coach, who wanted to take them to the barracks in Nanyuki for athletics as they await recruitment.

“But two days later, coach Isaac Kirwa of the Kenya Police came to our home and said he wanted to take my sons to the camp in Embu. I agreed. And that’s how they ended up being recruited,” says Boit.

Bett is a traffic policeman based in Kisumu while Koech is an officer attached to the Anti-Stock Theft Unit in Gilgil.

Interestingly, Bett’s house is different from those of other world beating athletes, which are decorated with trophies and pictures hanging on the walls. There is no picture apart from the accreditation badge for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

His wife, Gladys, beams: “Bett bought us a TV decoder so that we could watch the competition. I warned him not to let us watch him staging poor shows, and he did not disappoint. I am happy that I will be preparing food for a world champion.”