Agnes Tirop
The Kenyan police have arrested the husband of the world record runner Agnes Tirop, who was found dead this week.
The suspect was caught in the city of Mombasa, chief investigator George Kinoti told the AFP news agency on Thursday. The long-distance runner Tirop was found dead in her house the day before with stab wounds in her stomach.
According to Kinoti, Tirop's husband Emmanuel Rotich was caught while trying to escape. He is therefore in custody and should be brought before a judge on Friday.
Tirop was considered the upcoming star of one of the most successful running nations in the world. The 25-year-old won bronze twice at world championships over the 10,000-meter course. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo that year she was fourth in the 5,000 meters. Just last month she broke the women's world record on the ten-kilometer route at the road race in Herzogenaurach.
“Kenya has lost a jewel that, thanks to its sensational performances on the track, was one of the fastest rising athletics giants on the international stage,” said the Kenyan Athletics Federation. The Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta praised the young sportswoman as a “heroine”.
