Stars

Olympic champion's death a suicide after dispute

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-17 11:11

Kenya's Samuel Wanjiru poses with his trophy after winning the 2009 men's elite event in the London Marathon, in this file picture taken on April 26, 2009. [Photo/Agencies]

NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru died in his prime after a fall from a second-floor balcony during a domestic dispute involving his wife and another woman, officials said Monday.

One police official said the 24-year-old Wanjiru committed suicide, while another said he jumped to stop his wife from leaving the house after she discovered him with another woman. His agent, Federico Rosa, excluded suicide.

Related readings:  Kenyan Olympic marathon champion dies: police  Olympic marathon champ Sammy Wanjiru dies

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wanjiru became the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in the marathon. At 21, he had the promise to dominate the distance for another decade.

"It is a huge tragedy," said Jos Hermens, a long distance expert and manager of Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie. "He could have won two, three more Olympic Games. He was an incredible talent."

Wanjiru - who won five of his seven marathons and was the youngest runner to win four "major" marathons - died late Sunday at his home in the town of Nyahururu, in the Rift Valley, the cradle of Kenyan long-distance running.

"The fact of the matter is that Wanjiru committed suicide," national police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said.

Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere also said initial reports indicated Wanjiru killed himself, but a local official offered a different account.

"Wanjiru came home with another woman friend at around 11:30 pm and then when his wife came home and found them she inquired who the lady was," area police chief Jasper Ombati said. "They got into an argument. His wife locked them in the bedroom and ran off.

"He then jumped from the bedroom balcony. He is not here to tell us what he thinking when he jumped. We do not suspect foul play. In our estimation we think he wanted to stop his wife from leaving the compound."

Ombati said the balcony is between 4 and 6 meters (13 and 19 feet) high. He said the runner landed on a hard surface. "His head was intact but they may have been internal injuries which only a post-mortem can reveal," Ombati said.

Triza Njeri (R), wife of Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru, is assisted by an unidentified lady after viewing his body at a funeral home in Nyahururu, a town in the Rift Valley, 150 km Northwest of the capital Nairobi, May 16, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Rosa confirmed there had been a domestic dispute over another woman, but said Wanjiru would not have killed himself.

"I talked to him yesterday and the day before," he said, noting his training was proceeding smoothly. "It was going well and smoothly and he had no problem at all. This I can guarantee, it was not a suicide at all," Rosa said.

In addition to the Olympics, Wanjiru won the London Marathon in 2009 and in Chicago in 2009 and 2010, in the process running the fastest ever time recorded in a marathon in the United States.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Wanjiru was "steadily developing into our country's running phenomenon."

He offered condolences to family, friends, Kenya and the entire world athletics community, calling the death "a big blow to our dreams."