NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 15 – Reigning world champion Nicholas Bett of Kenya crashed out of the men’s 400m Hurdles at the Rio Olympics after being disqualified in his heat on Monday in Rio De Janeiro Brazil.
Bett, who was the event’s surprise winner in the Beijing world championships last year, clipped the last hurdle and jogged the final metres.
His heat had a false start before he got off well in the restart to lead at the back straight but he was out of the gas on the final barrier where he failed to clear the hurdle to see the trio of Jamaican Annsert Whyte, Briton Jack Green and Finnish Oskari Mörö overtake him.
Two of Bett’s teammates, Haron Koech and Boniface Tumuti, qualified with no such problems.
In the first heat, Morocco’s Abdelmalik Lahloulou took advantage of Clement’s casual approach to come through and take the heat win in a national record of 48.62 with Kenya’s 2015 world championships finalist Boniface Tumuti second in 48.91 and Clement third in a relaxed 49.17.
However, Kenya could take some consolation from the sixth and final heat when Haron Koech, a brother to Nicholas Bett, sped to victory in a personal best 48.77, and the manner in which he achieved his win will have been a warning that while Bett may no longer be a factor in Rio, his compatriots could still be medal contenders.