Who is Agnes Tirop: Kenyan athlete and world record holder Agnes Tirop, who recently represented her country at the Olympics, was found dead at her home, reports said Wednesday. The 25-year-old was allegedly stabbed and her husband is a suspect in the case. Latest reports suggest he is missing and investigators are trying to locate him.
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A statement from Athletics Kenya, a governing sports body in the country, confirmed Tirop's death. "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," it
According to the BBC, stab wounds were discovered from Tirop's body which was near a pool of blood at her home in Iten on Wednesday. She was reported missing a day prior by her father. "Her husband is still at large, and preliminary investigations tell us her husband is a suspect because he cannot be found," a police official was quoted saying.
"We received a message from the family of Tirop's husband that the husband had phoned the parents while crying and asking that God forgive him as there is something bad he had done," police were quoted saying.
Who Is Agnes Tirop? What You Should Know About Her Death
A two-time World Champion, Tirop won bronze medals in the 10000-metre athletics category in 2017 and 2019. She finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics final in the Athletics 5000 metres. Only last month, Tirop broke a world record in Germany, where she finished with a difference of 28 seconds in the women-only 10-kilometre race.
Tirop first came into the global spotlight in 2015 when, at the age of 19, she became only the second-youngest person to win the World Cross Country championships after South African runner Zola Budd.
The President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, said it was "unsettling, utterly unfortunate and very sad" that the country lost "a young and promising athlete" who had brought them glory.
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