“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.”
Last month, Tirop smashed the women-only 10km world record in Germany, crossing the line in 30:01 to shave 28 seconds from the previous record, set by Morocco’s Asmae Leghzaoui in 2002. She also competed for Kenya over 5,000m at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing fourth in the final.
Tirop gave early notice of her supreme talent by winning the world cross country title as a 19-year-old – the second youngest person to do so after Zola Budd in 1985. Athletics Kenya said it was still working to uncover details of the incident and added: “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.”
Meanwhile Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta also expressed his horror at the murder of an athlete he called a hero. “It is unsettling, utterly unfortunate and very sad that we’ve lost a young and promising athlete who, at a young age of 25 years, had brought our country so much glory,” he said. “It is even more painful that Agnes, a Kenyan hero by all measures, painfully lost her young life through a criminal act perpetrated by selfish and cowardly people.
“I urge our law enforcement agencies to track down and apprehend the criminals responsible for the killing of Agnes so that they can face the full force of the law,” he added.
The Kenyan journalist Evelyn Watta told the Guardian that as well as being a brilliant athlete, Tirop was well liked by her teammates. “As a person she was jolly, always smiling and very thoughtful with her words, very humble and respectful. She could come across as shy but it just needed asking the right questions. It’s just really sad news.”
The agent Michel Boeting, who was a friend of Tirop, tweeted: “We will never again see that majestic running style. We will never again see you raising your arms in celebration. But the worst is we will never see your beautiful smile again. You were Royal. It was a pleasure knowing you.”