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Kenyan world record holder Agnes Tirop, 25, was found stabbed to death at her home in Iten on Wednesday (October 13). Police are treating her husband as a prime suspect in the alleged murder case.
Agnes Tirop is a two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medallist. She finished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics 5000m final two months ago.
Kenyan police have registered a criminal case and begun investigations into her death. Police claim the husband has gone missing since Tirop’s death.
On Wednesday, crime scene investigators were at the home of Tirop, who police said was reported missing by her father on Tuesday night.
"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,” Tom Makori, head of police for the area was quoted as saying by BBC Sports.
He added:
"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."
Police believe the CCTV installed in the house will be able to help them with the investigation into Agnes Tirop’s death. The middle distance runner was found dead with a stab wound to her stomach, according to a BBC report.
Athletics Kenya issued a statement to pay their tribute to Agnes Tirop.
"Athletics Kenya are distraught to learn about the untimely death of World 10,000m bronze medallist Agnes Tirop. We are still working to unearth more details surrounding her demise. 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," the country's athletics body said in a statement.
Who was Agnes Tirop?
Agnes Tirop set the world record for a women’s only 10km road race in Germany last month. At the Tokyo Olympics, she finished just outside the medal place in women’s 5000m, behind Ehiopia’s bronze medallist Gudaf Tsegay of 0.75 seconds.
She also won bronze in the 10,000m at both the 2017 and 2019 Worlds.
Agnes Tirop began her career as a junior athlete in 2011, winning two bronze medals in the 5,000m at that year's world junior championships. In 2015, she won the senior World Cross Country championships in China - becoming the second youngest medallist at that level.
