Rising athletics star, Kenyan Agnes Tirop was found dead at her home on Wednesday, stabbed in the abdomen. If the circumstances of her death are not clearly established at this stage, her husband is suspected by the police.
“He can tell us what happened. The suspect made a call to Tirop’s parents to tell them that he had done something wrong. So we think he knows what happened, ”said Tom Makori, Keiyo district police commander, quoted by AFP.
Agnes Tirop was a rising star in Kenyan athletics. Twice world medalist over 10,000 m, 4e of the Tokyo Olympics over 5,000 m, world champion in cross country (2015), she had just broken the 10 km world record a month ago in 30 min 01 sec.
“Kenya has lost a diamond”
The announcement of the athlete’s death sparked a wave of emotions in the country. “Kenya lost a diamond who was one of the fastest growing athletes on the international stage thanks to her remarkable performances on the track,” lamented the national athletics federation.
The Head of State, Uhuru Kenyatta, also praised the memory of the young woman: “it is heartbreaking, extremely unhappy and sad to lose such a promising and young athlete who, at 25, had already brought glory to our country by its exploits on the track ”.