Olympic Distance Runner, 25, Found Stabbed to Death in Her Home, Husband Named as Suspect

Jason Duaine Hahn
·2 min read
Agnes Jebet Tirop
Agnes Jebet Tirop

Alexander Hassenstein/Getty

Agnes Tirop, a two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medalist who participated in the recent Tokyo Olympics, is dead.

The 25-year-old long-distance runner was found stabbed to death in her home in Iten, a town in the Republic of Kenya, after her father reported her missing on Tuesday night, according to BBC Sports. A criminal investigation into Tirop's death has begun and her husband is a suspect, the outlet said.

"When [police] got in the house, they found Tirop on the bed and there was a pool of blood on the floor," Tom Makori, the head of the local police department, told reporters.

"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," Makori continued. "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."

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Agnes Tirop
Agnes Tirop

ALI HAIDER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Tirop broke the world record for the women's 10K road race with a time of 30:01 on Sept. 12, and her most recent event was a 10K road race in Switzerland where she finished second with a time of 30:20, according to Sports Illustrated.

Athletics Kenya, the country's athletics body, remembered Tirop for her "eye-catching" performances.

"Athletics Kenya are this afternoon distraught to learn about the untimely death of World 10,000m bronze medalist Agnes Tirop," the group said in a statement, in part.

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"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 group added.

Local news outlets have reported that Tirop suffered stab wounds to her abdomen, according to CBS Sports.

Tirop competed in the Tokyo Olympics and placed fourth in the women's 5,000m race with a time of 14:39:62, just three minutes behind first place Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.