Agnes Tirop, the world record holder, found dead at her Kenyan home.
Agnes Tirop, a Kenyan world record holder, was discovered dead at her home in Iten, a popular training destination for many athletes.
The 25-year-old two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medalist, who placed fourth in the Olympic 5,000m final two months ago, was a two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medalist.
Kenyan police told BBC Sport Africa that they are still looking into the circumstances surrounding her death, with crime scene investigators arriving at her home on Wednesday.
Tirop broke the world record for a women’s only 10km road race in Germany last month.
“Athletics Kenya is devastated to learn of the unexpected death of World 10,000m bronze medalist Agnes Tirop this afternoon,” the country’s athletics governing body said in a statement.
“We’re currently looking for further information about her death.” Thanks to her eye-catching performances on the track, Kenya has lost a diamond who was one of the fastest-rising athletics giants on the international stage.”
Tirop finished barely outside the medal spots in the women’s 5,000m at the 2020 Olympic Games in August, trailing Ethiopia’s bronze medalist Gudaf Tsegay by 0.75 seconds.
Tirop wowed on and off the field, winning bronze medals in the 10,000m at both the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships.
At September, she achieved a new 10km road race record in Herzogenaurach, Germany, with a time of 30 minutes and one second, shaving 28 seconds off the previous record set in 2002.
Tirop began her athletic career as a junior in 2011, collecting two bronze medals in the 5,000m at the global junior championships.
She won the senior World Cross Country Championships in China four years later, becoming the second-youngest medalist at that level, during a meteoric rise.
Athletics Kenya wished “strength to [Tirop’s] family and friends at this trying time” in a statement.
