Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop was found dead in her home on Wednesday with stab wounds to her stomach in what officials suspect to be a homicide.
25-year-old Tirop was a double world 10,000m bronze medalist and 2015 world cross country champion. She also finished fourth in the 5,000m at this year’s Tokyo Olympics.
“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,” Athletics Kenya said in a statement.
The runner made history in 2015 when she became the second-youngest gold medalist in the women’s cross-country championships after South Africa’s Zola Budd.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta paid tribute to the young athlete, stating that “It is unsettling, utterly unfortunate and very sad that we’ve lost a young and promising athlete who, at a young age of 25 years, she had brought our country so much glory through her exploits.”
The president also urged Kenyan police to “track down and apprehend the criminals responsible for the killing of Agnes so that they can face the full force of the law,” according to a presidential statement.
The suspected murder follows the death of another Kenyan long-distance athlete, Hosea Mwok Macharinyang, who died Saturday of what officials said was suicide.
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