Kenyan Olympic Star Agnes Tirop Found Dead with Stab Wounds

Kenyan professional long-distance athlete Agnes Jebet Tirop is dead.

Tirop, who represented Kenya in the 5,000m women’s race at the Tokyo Olympics in August, was found dead in her house in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County on Wednesday.

Reports indicate that the 25-year-old had stab wounds in the abdomen. Her former boyfriend is suspected to be behind the killing.

Her death was confirmed by Barnaba Korir, the chairperson of Athletics Kenya in the Nairobi Region.

At the Tokyo Games, Tirop emerged fourth in the 5,000m women’s finals behind Dutch star Sifan Hassan, Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, and Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia.

She made history in the adizero Road To Records event in Germany in September, slashing 28 seconds from the 19-year-old women's record for 10km after clocking a staggering 30:01.

Tirop was the 2019 World 5,000m bronze medalist and also won a bronze medal in the 10,000m event at the 2017 World Championships.

She became the second-youngest medalist at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in the women's race.