Africa-Press – Kenya. World Under-20 silver medallist Leonard Bett has attributed his poor performance to a slight knee injury which slowed down his pace during the men’s 3,000m steeplechase race in Oregon.
Bett said he was ready to compete and had mooted a plan for the race only for him to miss his steps before hitting the barrier and falling down.
Bett finished last (position 15) at 8:36.74 during the race, which was won by Morocco’s Soufine El Bakkali. Kenya’s Conseslus Kipruto settled for bronze behind Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, who won silver.
All the same, Bett is grateful for having raced in the final where he rubbed shoulders with the bigwigs in the water and barrier race.
“This race has not been easy for me. I had high hopes but a miscalculation at the water jump changed the matrix for me. I still feel some slight pain in my knee but I believe all will be well. I am also grateful that I made it to the finals,” Bett said.
He added: “This loss has already happened and I am not going to dwell on that. Moving forward, I want to make amends ahead of the next year’s championships in Budapest.”
The 21-year-old also extended a hand of gratitude to Athletics Kenya for organizing a joint training camp that helped him gain experience despite his poor performance.
He revealed that the return of two-time world champion Conseslus Kipruto will be a relief for the team because he will take the leadership role.
“I want to thank AK for making sure we train together with the experienced athletes. Going forward, this will enable us to learn new tactics and I believe we will soon be back,” he said.
“I am glad that Conseslus is coming back strong. Training with him for the last few days has been a good experience for the upcoming athletes,”
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