Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat, who represented his country during his nearly two-decade career during which he specialized in the 3,000-metre tower chase, was found dead in western Kenya in the early hours of Sunday after being stabbed, it was reported the local police.
World Athletics is shocked and saddened by the news of Benjamin Kiplagat’s death. We extend our deepest condolences to his friends, family, teammates and fellow athletes. Our thoughts are with you all at this difficult time. https://t.co/x74j5xRvex pic.twitter.com/XvW8k5Gwss
– World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 31, 2023
“We are still investigating the incident to find out what actually happened, but we can confirm the following.” The man found dead was an international athlete named Benjamin Kiplagat,” the police commander of Moiben sub-district in Uasin Gishu (West) district told local media. Stefan Okal.
Neighbors told police, who arrived on the scene around 5 a.m., that a vehicle had been involved in an accident.
Inside the car, they found a body that had been stabbed in the chest and had a deep gash on his neck, he explained.
The vehicle was on the road connecting Eldoret town, the district capital, and Iten town, where Kiplagat, 34, was training, according to Kenyan media.
Historically, many runners grew up in this area and in fact athletes from all over the region train in Iten.
Kiplagat won the silver medal in the 3,000 meter Spire XII. Junior World Athletics Championship which took place in Poland in 2008 and won bronze at the 18th African Athletics Championship 2012 in Benin, in addition to representing Uganda in three editions of the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016, and other competitions.
World Athletics, the governing body for athletics around the world, was “shocked and saddened” by Kiplagat’s death and sent its condolences to family, friends and colleagues via the social network X (formerly Twitter).
The news came two years after the Kenyan athlete was murdered in October 2021 at the age of 25. Agnes Jebet TiropFemale world record holder in the 10 kilometer road race and specialist in the 5,000 meter race.
On October 13 of the same year, Kenyan police found Tirop’s lifeless body after it was stabbed in her home in Iten, some events in which the main suspect was her husband Ibrahim Rotich.
Rotich, who was charged with murder and pleaded not guilty, was released on bail last November after two years of pre-trial detention and awaiting the start of his trial.
Tirop’s murder highlighted the numerous cases of sexist violence against Kenyan athletes.
(With information from EFE)
Source: La Neta Neta
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
