Kenyan long-distance runner and Olympian Agnes Tirop has been found dead at her home in Iten at the age of 25.
Local police confirmed that her husband been named as a suspect in the investigation and is currently still at large.
Tirop, who set the women-only 10km world record in Germany last month with a time of 30:01, was known as one of Kenya’s leading athletes.
Olympian Agnes Tirop found dead
Kenyan athlete Agnes Tirop has been found dead at her home in the western town of Iten. She was only 25 years-old at the time of her death.
Head of police for the area Tom Makori said that when police arrived at the scene they found Tirop on the bed with “a pool of blood on the floor.”
He explained: “They saw she had been stabbed in the neck, which led us to believe it was a knife wound, and we believe that is what caused her death.”
In a statement, President Kenyatta urged law enforcement to “track down” those responsible for Tirop’s death so that they can “face the full force of the law.”
Who was Agnes Tirop?
Tirop was a two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medallist, and finished fourth in the Olympic 5,000m final this summer.
At the young age of 19, Tirop won the world cross country title, becoming the second youngest person to do so after Zola Budd in 1985.
Following the tragic news of Tirop’s death, Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta stated:
“It is unsettling, utterly unfortunate and very sad that we’ve lost a young and promising athlete who, at a young age of 25 years, had brought our country so much glory.”
Who is Agnes Tirop’s husband?
According to the police in the area and Athletics Kenya, Tirop’s husband, Emmanuel Ibrahim Kipleting, is a suspect in the investigation of her death.
Makori stated: “Her husband is still at large, and preliminary investigations tell us her husband is a suspect because he cannot be found. Police are trying to find her husband so he can explain what happened to Tirop.”
Athletics Kenya also said Tirop was “allegedly stabbed by her husband,” but that they were still working to “unearth more details surrounding her demise.”
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