Honour Bett with a sprinters camp

The late Nicholas Bett.

As the sports fraternity bid farewell to former world 400m hurdles champion Nicholas Bett in his home at Simat, Uasin Gishu County, there were passionate calls for Athletics Kenya (AK) to set up a camp to support sprinters and hurdlers.

Before he died in a road accident last week, Bett had urged Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa to help set up a training camp for hurdlers like him and sprinters to nurture talent. Bett clinched a gold medal at the World Championships in 2015 in Beijing, China just from his raw talent, but he felt there is need to groom more youngsters who can also take the world by storm.

The government and AK should ensure Bett’s dream is realised as a way to honour the fallen champion. I

t will be tough to get another hurdler or Kenyan sprinter who can win a gold medal at the World Championships, but that will be possible if we set up a camp to nurture raw talent. We believe there are many upcoming runners who were looking up to Bett and are hoping to bring more glory to the country. That can only happen if we give them the requisite facilities and adequate financial support.

This should not be another case of where a hero or heroine is forgotten as soon as we leave their graves.

While we all came together on Thursday to accord Bett a decent sendoff, we look forward to Kenyan stars shinning at the global or continental stage.