Ugandan Olympic steeplechaser found murdered just outside of Eldoret

Ugandan three-time Olympian Benjamin Kiplagat has been killed. Kiplagat, 34, is believed to have been murdered early Sunday morning, reported the BBC. Kiplagat, who specialized in the 3,000m steeple, was living in the Marakwet District of Kenya, and his body was discovered in his vehicle just outside of the city of Eldorat. Eldorat is the fifth largest city in Kenya and known as a top training center for athletes.

He broke onto the international scene in 2006 when he was sixth in the 3,000m steeple at the World Junior Championships in Beijing, China. He was a silver medalist at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Poland, and narrowly missed the podium at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. Kiplagat was 10th at the 2011 World Championships in South Korea, and made the semifinals in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Kenyan police commandant Stephen Okal said that officers received a message about a traffic accident, and arrived at the scene around 5.00 am, as reported by NTV Kenya. Police found Kiplagat lying in the driver’s seat—the athlete had been stabbed in the chest and neck. Police believe the assailants had used a motorcycle to block Kiplagat’s path, and his vehicle had hit the motorcycle before the attack.

“We are still investigating the incident to ascertain what really happened, but what we can confirm is that the man found dead is an international athlete called Benjamin Kiplagat,” said Okal.

Kiplagat had been training in Eldoret before heading to Uganada to compete. He had Kiplagat had secured a bronze medal while representing Uganada at the Africa Championships in Porto Novo, Benin in 2012, and finished in the heats at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Kiplagat’s death will be mourned by the international athletics community, while investigations continue to uncover the circumstances around his tragic death.

posted Tuesday January 2nd
by Keeley Milne