Olympic Champion Wanjiru plunges to death

By CYRUS OMBATI

Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru died when he allegedly leapt off the balcony of his Nyahururu home on Sunday night.

Detectives are now trying to ascertain if the 24-year-old, the first Kenyan to win the Olympic gold in the marathon at Beijing in 2008, had deliberately killed himself by jumping off the balcony at his home in Nyahururu.

According to Nyahururu OCPD Jasper Ombati, Wanjiru appeared to have suffered internal injuries after the fall and was confirmed dead by doctors at a nearby hospital.

Samuel Wanjiru crosses the finish line to win the Chicago Marathon October 11, 2009. He died today after leaping off his Nyahururu house balcony [Picture/File]

"It is not yet clear whether it was a suicide or if he jumped out of rage, or what caused him to fall to the ground. He died past midnight on Sunday," Ombati said.

Ombati said preliminary findings had shown Wanjiru jumped from his first floor balcony to the ground and was bleeding from the nose and the mouth at that time.

The police boss said he may have fallen on his face and police were investigating a possible love triangle that could have been behind the death of Wanjiru.

Wanjiru is also a former winner of the Chicago and London marathons. He had been at a nearby popular bar before going home with a woman.

Love triangle

Ombati said the athlete's wife Triza Njeri had come home to find Wanjiru with another woman in the house. Njeri then reportedly locked the couple in the bedroom and ran outside.

It was then that Wanjiru ran outside through the back door and leapt from the balcony, he said.

Both Njeri and Wanjiru's female companion are now assisting police in investigating the death. They were arrested as police came to pick up the body to the mortuary.

In December 2010, Wanjiru reconciled with his wife after he was charged in court with threatening to kill her and being in illegal possession of an AK-47 assault rifle.

Wanjiru also suffered minor injuries from a car crash in January when he swerved to avoid an oncoming truck, hit a pot hole and his car rolled into a ditch.

Wanjiru defied the heat of Beijing in 2008 to triumph in an Olympic record time at the games held in China.

Wanjiru moved to Japan in 2002 to attend high school after winning a cross country selection trial in Kenya. It was then that he picked up and came to fame winning successively.