How elite sport in Kenya has suffered tragic deaths and brutal murders

Marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum's shocking death this past weekend aged just 24 sent shockwaves through the world of athletics.

Authorities have already declared his death, along with that of his coach, an accident after his car was discovered wrapped around a tree some 60 meters off the Eldoret-Iten highway.

His father however is insistent that authorities must investigate the incident further, claiming several unidentified men came looking for Kiptum not long before the horror car crash and left after refusing to show their ID or say why they needed to see him.

Tragic news: World Marathon record holder Kiptum, 24, dies in traffic accident

Kiptum's death came on Sunday, just five days after World Athletics ratified his world record time of 2:00:35, which he set with a stellar victory in last year’s Chicago Marathon.

Shocking images showed how the blue Toyota Premio was completely crumpled and the windscreen smashed in, while the roof had been torn in two, such was the force of the impact.

But Kiptum is far from the first young Kenyan star to perish in suspicious - or downright violent - circumstances in recent years.

Now, as Kenya and the sporting world mourn the loss of a national hero, Mozzart Sport looks into all-time great athletes who were cut down before their prime, including the tragic tale of how a third breakout female track star was savagely stabbed to death before she could reach her prime.

Samuel Wanjiru

Kiptum’s untimely passing evokes memories of his compatriot and fellow marathon runner Samuel Wanjiru.

Before athletics enthusiasts and commentators everywhere were talking about Kelvin Kiptum as Kenya's next generational marathon talent, there was Wanjiru.

He arrived on the world stage in 2008 when he stormed to victory at the Beijing Olympics, setting a Games record of 2:06:32 and becoming the first-ever Kenyan Olympic marathon champion.

A year later, he went on to win the 2009 London Marathon, and many believed he was destined to become one of the best-ever long-distance runners.

Instead, his life came to an abrupt end in May 2011, when he was discovered dead outside his apartment, having fallen from his balcony.

Wanjiru allegedly fell to his death from his balcony in 2011 also aged 24 after setting an Olympic record with his gold medal-winning performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Thirteen years on, an investigation into that incident is still ongoing after courts ruled there was inconclusive evidence he died of suicide, while his mother insists her son was murdered.

Agnes Tirop

The death of 25-year-old Agnes Tirop was arguably the most tragic of them all - and undoubtedly the most violent.

The promising young runner, who had won 10,000m bronze medals in two consecutive World Championships and came fourth in the 5000m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was found dead at her home near Eldoret on October 13, 2021, in a pool of her blood.

A coroner ruled she had died as a result of the massive blood loss from a series of savage stab wounds to her neck and abdomen.

The horrific discovery prompted authorities to launch a manhunt for her husband, Ibrahim Rotich.

He was detained hours later after a breathless late-night chase which only ended when the fleeing Rotich slammed his vehicle into a lorry as he sought to escape several police cars bearing down on him.

Rotich is now on trial for the murder of his wife Tirop - a charge he denies.

The trial only got underway in November last year, more than two years after Tirop's death.

Nicholas Bett

28-year-old Nicholas Bett died in a car accident on Tuesday 7, 2018. He died on the road between Eldoret and Kapsabet.

Bett, the 2015 world champion, was killed in an early-morning crash in the country’s high-altitude training region. Bett had returned from the African championships in Nigeria on Monday.

His Toyota Prado SUV is said to have hit bumps on the road and rolled.

Bett became the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in a distance shorter than 800m when he triumphed in the 400m hurdles at the world championships in Beijing in 2015. He also won bronze medals at the African championships 2014 in the 400 hurdles and 4x400m relay.

It was in 2014 when his potential caught the eye of coach Vincent Mumo. He introduced Bett to Jukka Harkonen, who became Bett’s agent and organized a link-up with South African coach Hennie Kotze.

Francis Kiplagat

Kiplagat is among those who perished in a grisly road accident on February 19th, 2018, around 11 pm in the Kikopey area along the Nakuru- Nairobi highway.

The accident, which involved North Rift Matatu, and a lorry claimed six lives, among them the athlete, who was on his way back to Eldoret from Nairobi.

The then 27-year-old competed in several road races abroad.

Kiplagat had nine career victories to his name with personal bests of 14:58 in the 5km, 29:45 (10km), 62:49 half marathon, and a 2:15:57 marathon.

David Lelei

Kenyan David Lelei died on Wednesday 17 February 2010 following a road accident along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, about 200 km from the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Lelei won silver at 1500m at the 1999 All-African Games, and later that summer finished seventh over the same distance at the World Championships. He was fourth at the 2001 World Indoor Championships at 800m.

39-year-old Lelei had personal bests of 1:43.97 for 800m (2000) and 3:31.53 for 1500m (1998).

In the car with Lelei was Moses Tanui, 1996 and 1998 Boston Marathon winner and 1991 World 10,000m champion over the 10,000m, who sustained minor injuries.

Jefferson Siekei

Japan-based long-distance runner Jefferson Siekei was killed in a road accident at the Hitachi Cable athletics team. The accident took place on February 6, 2009. He was 25.

Siekei was riding a motorcycle on his way to a competition when he crashed head-on with a truck.

He had temporarily returned to Kenya in early February for training.

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Gilbert Kwemoi

Kenya’s former Youth Olympic Games gold medallist Gilbert Soet Kwemoi died at the age of 23 after being rushed to a hospital in Mount Elgon.

Kwemoi died on October 25, 2016, after a short battle with illness, with the news confirmed by the National Police Service coach Isaac Kirwa, under whom he had been training in Iten and Nairobi.

Kwemoi was born in Kipsigon in the Mount Elgon area of Bungoma County in October 1997.

He won gold at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing China, finishing the 1500 meters final in 3min 41.99sec, beating Ethiopia's Mulugeta Assefa in second by more than three seconds.

Earlier that year, Kwemoi had claimed gold in the 1500m at the African Youth Games in Gaborone in Botswana.

In 2015, he clinched a silver medal at the African Under-20s Championships in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

Ian Mutuku

The athletics fraternity was shocked following the untimely death of promising men 400m sprinter and 2014 Africa Youth Games silver medallist, Ian Mutuku who collapsed and passed on at a hospital in Machakos.

Mutuku, 19, the 2013 national youth champion finished fourth at both the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine, and the 2014 Olympics Youth Games and was seen as a prospect for the country in the lap race.

His coach Philip Muia said that Mutuku checked himself into Machakos Level 5 Hospital with a swollen body before his health turned for the better over the weekend.