Kenyan Olympic runner, world-record holder Agnes Tirop found stabbed to death; police searching for husband
Kenyan Olympic long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in her home in Iten on Wednesday. She was 25 years old.
Police say that Tirop's father reported her missing on Tuesday. Elgeyo Marakwet County police chief Tom Makori told reporters that they discovered Tirop's body with stab wounds on Wednesday and that they were seeking her husband for questioning.
"Her husband is still at large, and preliminary investigations tell us her husband is a suspect because he cannot be found," Makori said, per the BBC. "Police are trying to find her husband so he can explain what happened to Tirop."
Police said that her car parked outside her home had its windows smashed, according to the Associated Press.
Tirop competed for Kenya in the Tokyo Olympics, where she finished fourth in the 5,000 meters. She won bronze medals at the 2017 and 2019 world championships in the 10,000 meters. She set a world record by 28 seconds in a 10 km road-race in Germany in September.
Athletics Kenya addressed her death in a statement.
"Athletics Kenya are this afternoon distraught to learn about the untimely death of World 10,000m bronze medalist Agnes Tirop," the statement reads. "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."
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta mourned the los of "a Kenyan hero."
“It is unsettling, utterly unfortunate and very sad that we’ve lost a young and promising athlete,” Kenyatta said in a statement. “It is even more painful that Agnes, a Kenyan hero by all measures, painfully lost her young life through a criminal act perpetuated by selfish and cowardly people.”
