Kenyan long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in her home in Iten — a town in the Republic of Kenya. According to BBC Sports, Tirop’s father reported her missing on Oct. 12 when her body was found the next day. A criminal investigation into Tirop’s death has begun and her husband Ibrahim Rotich is a suspect.
“When [police] got in the house, they found Tirop on the bed and there was a pool of blood on the floor. 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. 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,” Tom Makori, the head of the local police department, told Reuters.
“We are now urging Ibrahim Rotich, husband to the late Kenyan athlete to present himself to the nearest police station or security agency to assist police with their investigations. We have not arrested the suspect by Thursday, but we have some information which can lead us for his arrest.,” Makori further told stated.
The 25-year-old long-distance runner was a two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medalist who participated in the recent Tokyo Olympics. She broke the world record for the women’s 10K road race with a time of 30:01 on Sept. 12, and her most recent event was a 10K road race in Switzerland where she finished second with a time of 30:20, according to Sports Illustrated.
Athletics Kenya, the country’s athletics body, also paid homage to Tirop.
“Athletics Kenya are this afternoon distraught to learn about the untimely death of World 10,000m bronze medalist Agnes Tirop. Kenya has lost a jewel who was one of the fastest-rising athletics giants on the international stage, thanks to her eye-catching performances on the track,” Athletics Kenya expressed in a statement.
Tirop placed fourth in the women’s 5,000m race in the Tokyo Olympics with a time of 14:39:62, just three minutes behind first place Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.
