Kenyan police were hunting yesterday for the husband of record-breaking runner Agnes Tirop who was stabbed to death in an incident that has shocked her home country and the world of athletics.
Tirop’s husband Emmanuel Rotich was named by police as a suspect in the death of the 25-year-old double world championships medallist and Olympian, who has been hailed as a rising star cut short in her prime.
“We are closing in on the manhunt for the killer,” Keiyo North police commander Tom Makori told AFP, saying police were tracking down Rotich’s phone signal.
“The sooner we get him to reveal the circumstance that led to the murder of the young girl, the better for all of us. We are under pressure to catch him.”
Tirop’s body was found with stab wounds in the bedroom of her home in Iten in western Kenya, a high-altitude training hub for many top-class athletes.
“Murder of a champ,” was the front-page headline in Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper.
Athletics Kenya said it was postponing cross country events for two weeks in honour of Tirop and another runner who was found dead at the weekend of an apparent suicide.
Athletics Kenya president Jackson Tuwei said Tirop’s death was a “huge blow” to athletics, describing her as “one of the fastest rising stars” and voicing hope for speedy justice.
Mourners, some in tears, gathered at the family home in the village of Kapnyamisa, which lies about two hours’ drive from Iten.
Her mother Dinah Tirop spoke with sadness at the loss of her daughter, the family breadwinner who paid for children’s school fees and clothes.
“When we got the news it was really saddening, because Agnes has been a good person since she was young and Agnes has never been in any conflict with anyone,” added her brother Josephat Keter.
Tirop was killed just a month after she smashed the women-only 10km world record at an event in Germany.
She was a double world 10,000m bronze medallist and 2015 world cross county champion and finished fourth in the 5,000m at the Tokyo Olympics this year.
She also made history in 2015 when she became the second-youngest ever gold medallist in the women’s cross country championships after Zola Budd.
“Tirop’s death is the latest in a series of misfortunes that have befallen various athletes in the recent past, including suicide, family wrangles, alcoholism and illegal drug use as well as untimely deaths,” Tuwei said.
On Saturday, another long-distance athlete Hosea Mwok Macharinyang, a member of Kenya’s record-breaking world cross country team, died of what athletics officials said was suicide.
Macharinyang, 35, had competed for Kenya in both cross country and 5,000m and 10,000m races. He won three consecutive titles in the World Cross Country Championships from 2006 to 2008.
Tuwei spoke of the enormous pressure facing Kenya’s top athletes, who can sometimes struggle to live up to their image as infallible role models in the nation of sporting greats.
“We cannot hide our heads in the sand anymore. These unfortunate incidents are products of mental anguish affecting various sportspersons,” he said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta paid tribute to the young athlete, who would have turned 26 later this month, saying she had “brought our country so much glory through her exploits on the global athletics stage”.
Kenya is the most successful nation in the cross country championships, having won 49 team and 27 individual titles.
‘A great talent’– fellow athletes pay tribute to Kenyan Tirop
Kenyan athletes Eunice Sum and Julius Yego led the tributes to compatriot Agnes Tirop who was found stabbed to death at her home in the town of Iten on Wednesday.
Local police said they were treating Tirop’s husband as a suspect and have asked him to come forward.
Tirop, 25, finished fourth in the 5,000m at this year’s Tokyo Olympics and won bronze medals at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships in the 10,000m. She was also a twice gold medallist at the World Cross Country Championships.
Yego, world javelin champion in 2015, described Tirop as an “amazing young girl” who was on her way to becoming one of the top athletes in the world.
“She wanted to be the best and it was only a few weeks ago that she broke the world record for the 10km. Her successful career was still being crafted but unfortunately, someone decided the whole story cannot be written,” he told the BBC yesterday.
“We just lost a great talent. She was such a strong woman and committed to what she was doing.”
Tirop last month smashed the women-only 10km world record, shaving 28 seconds off the previous mark. Sum, the 2013 world 800m champion, visited Tirop’s home after the incident on Wednesday. “Agnes was a jovial, ever-smiling lady... seeing her body was so hurtful for us. I hope Agnes gets justice. Rest in peace Agnes.”
Hellen Obiri, who won silver in the 5,000m in Tokyo, also paid tribute to her long-time rival.
“It was shocking news to me that Agnes is no more. I have raced with Agnes in so many races – recently in Tokyo. I was hoping Agnes would take over from me but it was an untimely death for her. May she rest in eternal peace,” Obiri told the BBC.
Agnes Tirop
