'A team player and strong athlete,' slain Agnes Tirop eulogised
Kenya's Agnes Jebet Tirop (right) competes in the Women's 5,000m race heats during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on July 30, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Reigning world 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri said she was looking to Tirop to succeed her in 5,000m and 10,000m races as she had decided to move to road running
- Obiri told Nation Sport that she enjoyed having Tirop as a teammate in major championships because she would push her to the limit and in the end bring good results for Kenya
- Former 5,000m Commonwealth Games champion Mercy Cherono said Tirop’s death has left a big gap in Kenyan athletics
Athletes have eulogised slain colleague Agnes Tirop as a talented youngster who was destined to be one of the best distance running athletes in Kenya.
Two-time world 10,000 metres bronze medalist Tirop was found dead in her house in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County last Wednesday. Her estranged lover Ibrahim Rotich, a suspect in the murder case, appeared in court yesterday.
Reigning world 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri said she was looking to Tirop to succeed her in 5,000m and 10,000m races as she had decided to move to road running.
Obiri told Nation Sport that she enjoyed having Tirop as a teammate in major championships because she would push her to the limit and in the end bring good results for Kenya.
"We have lost an icon whose career was just taking shape, which is so sad. I participated in more than 28 races in track and cross country with Tirop and she was always so strong. A race with her would always be tough," said Obiri.
She recalled their outing at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha where the two hatched a solid game plan for the women’s 10,000m final. Tirop claimed bronze, with Obiri finishing fifth in a race won by Dutch runner Sifan Hassan.
"Tirop was a team player. The women’s 10,000m final of the 2019 World Athletics Championships is just one of the races we ran together with great teamwork. She was a hard worker, a polite woman who always concentrated on her career. None of us knew that she had marital problems," added Obiri.
The 2017 World Cross Country Championships silver medallist Alice Aprot said she was shocked beyond words when she heard news of Tirop’s death.
"We were both in Team Kenya during the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala. She was a team player. I was shocked to hear news of her death. The Kenyan athletics fraternity has lost a focused athlete who was destined to go places," said Aprot.
Aprot and Tirop also represented Kenya together at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London, where Tirop claimed a bronze medal in a race won by Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana, followed by Tirunesh Dibaba. Aprot was fourth.
Former 5,000m Commonwealth Games champion Mercy Cherono said Tirop’s death has left a big gap in Kenyan athletics.
"Tirop was going to be the next big thing in the long distance races and losing her in such a manner is so painful. When people have marital problems, they should try to settle issues amicably. We shall miss Tirop," said Cherono.
The postmortem will be done on Tuesday at Iten County Referral Hospital mortuary. Tirop will be buried on Saturday at her parents’ home in Kapnyemisa village, Nandi County.
A team of athletes is coordinating burial arrangements together with the family.
The court directed detectives to detain Rotich for 20 days pending investigations.
