Agnes Tirop, a Kenyan Olympian, a bronze medalist in two world championships, was found dead in her home on Wednesday with stab wounds, police said, who began a search for her missing husband.
Elgeyo Marakwet County Sheriff Tom Makori said authorities were looking for Tirop’s husband after his family reported calling them crying and asking God’s forgiveness for something he had done.
“There are revelations that come from her husband’s family,” Makori said.
Tirop, 25, was found dead in her home in Iten, western Kenya. The town is known for being a training base for long-distance runners. Kenyan media reported that the athlete’s body had stab wounds in the abdomen and neck.
Tirop’s car, which was parked outside the house, had its windshield and windows smashed, suggesting a domestic dispute before she was killed, police said.
The Kenyan National Police said that Tirop was the victim of a “heinous crime” and promised “swift and thorough investigations.”
Kenya’s athletics federation had said that Tirop, one of the country’s rising stars, had allegedly been stabbed by her husband, but was still working to gather more details about the incident.
“Kenya has lost a jewel,” the federation noted.
Tirop won bronze medals in the 10,000 meters at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships, and finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics. Just last month, Tirop broke the world record in the women’s 10-kilometer road race in Germany.
His career took off when he won the world cross-country title in 2015 at the age of 19. She became the second youngest champion in the event’s history.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta called on the police to “find and apprehend the criminals responsible for Agnes’ murder.”
“It is disturbing, immensely unfortunate and very sad that we have lost a promising young athlete.” Kenyatta said in a statement. “It is even more painful that Agnes, a Kenyan heroine in all respects, painfully lost her very young life to a criminal act perpetrated by a cowardly and selfish person.”
World Athletics, the international body in charge of athletics, said it was “incredibly shocked and saddened” by Tirop’s death.
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