Olympic champion’s death ‘definitely not suicide’
Kenya’s marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru, 24, was “upbeat and happy” just one day before he fell to his death from a balcony at his home, his agent tells Channel 4 News.
The world of athletics has come together to pay tribute to one of its most talented stars amid different versions of how Samuel Wanjiru came to fall from the 13 foot balcony in his home town of Nyahururu.
National police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said in Nairobi: “The fact of the matter is that Wanjiru committed suicide.”
However Nyahururu’s police chief Jasper Ombati said it may have been an accident after a dispute with his wife.
“I can confirm that Wanjiru is dead. It is not yet clear whether it was a suicide, if he jumped out of rage, or what caused him to fall to the ground,” Ombati said.
It was definitely not suicide at all, I can guarantee that 100 per-cent, Federico Rosa, Wanjiru’s agent
“Wanjiru came home with another woman friend at around 23:30 and then when his wife came home and found them she inquired who the lady was, they got into an argument, and his wife locked them in the bedroom”
“He jumped from his first floor balcony to the ground. He was bleeding from the nose and the mouth, and may have suffered internal injuries,” the police chief said.
But the official version has shocked Wanjiru’s agent of the last six years, Federico Rosa.
“It was definitely not suicide at all, I can guarantee that 100 per cent,” Rosa told Channel 4 News.
“I talked to him just yesterday and there were absolutely no signs that he would commit suicide. He was fully focused on his career, he had sorted out his problems, and he sounded upbeat, very happy and relaxed,” he continued.
“This is terrible news. He was a very nice and simple young boy, he had a big heart. The world has lost one of the greatest athletes in history,” Rosa said.
Wanjiru was the first Kenyan to win an Olympic gold medal in the marathon, setting a record breaking time in Beijing in 2008.
Samuel Wanjiru's mentor, John Ngugi - regarded as one of the greatest cross-country runners of all time - writes exclusively for Channel 4 News about the passing away of a Kenyan 'hero'
"I will remember Samuel as a truly great marathon runner. He was welcoming, big hearted, and the world will miss his great talent and fearlessness.
He was good to so many. We will remember him through the many young athletes in Nyahururu still left behind whose lives he touched so positively and for that we have to be very proud.
Throughout the time I spent with him, he gave his all. I found him to be a guy who had had a full and exciting life. He was dedicated to his career and did our country very proud. I saw him as a true hero to many young Kenyans and sports lovers in the world. He also assisted the locals a lot. I am proud that he brought back a World title to Nyahururu after my 5 time world cross country championship reign. I know other titles will follow from Nyahururu in the same footsteps.
Samuel touched each one of us with his life. One draws the lesson that we ought to put our faith in the Lord always. With God all things are possible and only to Him can we put our trust.
Samuel, we will miss you, but we will always remember you with respect, admiration and love, always."
The following year he went on to win the London and Chicago marathons, becoming the youngest ever athlete to win four major marathon titles, and setting the fastest ever time recorded in a marathon in the United States.
But in 2010 he suffered a number of injuries and his life appeared to spiral out of control. In late December he was charged with threatening to kill his wife, assaulting a security guard, and owning an illegal AK-47.
Wanjiru denied the allegations and said he had been framed. The assault charges were eventually dropped but he was still facing legal action for the weapon charge, which was due at court on 23rd May.
He also suffered minor injuries from a car crash in January when he swerved to avoid an oncoming truck and rolled his car.
Wanjiru made an early start to his career, moving to Japan aged 15 where he attended school in Sendai — a city hard hit by this year’s Japan tsunami.
Despite his injuries, he was widely tipped to break the world marathon record in next year’s London Olympics.
Of course one wonders if we as an athletics family could have avoided this tragedy, Haile Gebreselassie
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Wanjiru “was one of our sure bets for gold in the upcoming contest. His death is a big blow to our dreams”
“It is my hope that his exploits will inspire more of our young people to carry on from where he has left,” Odinga continued.
Ethiopian distance running great Haile Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic 10,000-meter champion and world record-holder in the marathon, said on his Twitter feed that he was “totally shocked” by the news.
“My thoughts are with his family and all his friends and colleagues,” Gebrselassie said.
“Of course one wonders if we as an athletics family could have avoided this tragedy,” he said.
Jos Hermens, the manager of Gebrselassie and one of the most respected long-distance experts in the field, said Wanjiru saw too much success too early in his career.
“It is incredibly sad. An Olympic champion at 21, he was poised to become the world-record holder in the marathon. He could not deal with all the luxury.
It all went too fast, too much money,” Hermens said. “You could not say anything bad about him. He just could not deal with it all. He was a lion of a man, and he departed us in much the same way.”