The 24 year old is the first Kenyan to win an Olympic gold medal in the men’s marathon event
Kenyan long distance runner, Sammy Wanjiru, died on Monday morning after jumping from a balcony at his Rift Valley home, police said.
As at the time of report it is still unclear whether the 24 year-old committed suicide or jumped out of rage.
Local reports said Wanjiru's wife, Triza Njeri, had come home to find him in bed with another woman. She locked the couple in the bedroom and ran outside.
Wanjiru then leapt from the balcony
John Mbijiwe, the police chief in Kenya’s Central Province, said the death is subject to further investigation.
A report on a local media in Adelaide said Wanjiru's brother, marathoner Duncan Kibet, had confirmed the tragedy.
“He (Wanjiru) jumped out of a balcony and they tried to revive him, but he didn't make it," he said.
Wanjiru has had a history of domestic problems. Last December he was charged with wounding his security guard with a rifle and threatening to kill his wife and maid.
He denied all charges and was released on bail.
Wanjiru is the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in the Olympics’ men marathon event. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wanjiru, then 21 years old, raced to victory after posting a 2hr 06:32 time to break the 24-year-old Olympic record set by Carlos Lopes in the 1984 Olympics.
The Kenyan started running at the age of 15. In 2002, he moved to Japan and went to Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School. He won the Fukuoka International Cross Country as a16 year-old in 2003 and successfully defended the title in 2004 and 2005.
At age 17, Wanjiru ran a personal best time of 13:12.40 at Hiroshima, Japan in 2004.
He broke the half marathon world record set by Paul Tergat's (59:17) the following year at the Rotterdam Half Marathon with a time 59:16 minutes.
Wanjiru is survived by wife, cousin Joseph Riri, a world-class marathon runner, and younger brother, Simon Njoroge,
Kenyan long distance runner, Sammy Wanjiru, died on Monday morning after jumping from a balcony at his Rift Valley home, police said.
As at the time of report it is still unclear whether the 24 year-old committed suicide or jumped out of rage.
Local reports said Wanjiru's wife, Triza Njeri, had come home to find him in bed with another woman. She locked the couple in the bedroom and ran outside.
Wanjiru then leapt from the balcony
John Mbijiwe, the police chief in Kenya’s Central Province, said the death is subject to further investigation.
A report on a local media in Adelaide said Wanjiru's brother, marathoner Duncan Kibet, had confirmed the tragedy.
“He (Wanjiru) jumped out of a balcony and they tried to revive him, but he didn't make it," he said.
Wanjiru has had a history of domestic problems. Last December he was charged with wounding his security guard with a rifle and threatening to kill his wife and maid.
He denied all charges and was released on bail.
Wanjiru is the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in the Olympics’ men marathon event. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wanjiru, then 21 years old, raced to victory after posting a 2hr 06:32 time to break the 24-year-old Olympic record set by Carlos Lopes in the 1984 Olympics.
The Kenyan started running at the age of 15. In 2002, he moved to Japan and went to Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School. He won the Fukuoka International Cross Country as a16 year-old in 2003 and successfully defended the title in 2004 and 2005.
At age 17, Wanjiru ran a personal best time of 13:12.40 at Hiroshima, Japan in 2004.
He broke the half marathon world record set by Paul Tergat's (59:17) the following year at the Rotterdam Half Marathon with a time 59:16 minutes.
Wanjiru is survived by wife, cousin Joseph Riri, a world-class marathon runner, and younger brother, Simon Njoroge,
