Tweet
Kenyan Olympic marathon gold medalist Sammy Wanjiru jumps to death after being caught in affair
BY Lukas I. Alpert
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, May 16th 2011, 8:34 AM
Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Kenya's Samuel Kamau Wanjiru celebrates winning the gold after the men's marathon at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
A Kenyan Olympic marathon champion plunged to his death in an apparent suicide after his wife caught him in bed with another woman, police said Monday.
Sammy Wanjiru, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, leapt from the balcony of his home in Nyahururu, Kenya, late Sunday and died a short time later.
Officials say the tragic fall came after Wanjiru's wife returned home and caught him in the throes of passion with another woman.
"Wanjiru came home with another woman friend around 11:30 p.m. and then when his wife came home and found them, she inquired who the lady was," said Police Chief Jasper Ombati. "They got into an argument. His wife locked them in the bedroom and ran off."
Wanjiru, 24, then jumped to his death.
Kenya's Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, called it a blow to the entire sporting world.
"Wanjiru's death is not only a loss to his family and friends but to Kenya as a whole and the entire world athletics fraternity," Odinga said.
It's not the first dangerous dust-up between Wanjiru and his wife, Triza Njeri.
Last year, Wanjiru was charged with threatening to kill his wife with an AK-47. The charged were later dropped and the couple reconciled.
Wanjiru - whose 2008 showing in Beijing set the Olympic marathon record - has also won marathons in London and Chicago.
BY Lukas I. Alpert
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, May 16th 2011, 8:34 AM
Anja Niedringhaus/APKenya's Samuel Kamau Wanjiru celebrates winning the gold after the men's marathon at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
A Kenyan Olympic marathon champion plunged to his death in an apparent suicide after his wife caught him in bed with another woman, police said Monday.
Sammy Wanjiru, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, leapt from the balcony of his home in Nyahururu, Kenya, late Sunday and died a short time later.
Officials say the tragic fall came after Wanjiru's wife returned home and caught him in the throes of passion with another woman.
"Wanjiru came home with another woman friend around 11:30 p.m. and then when his wife came home and found them, she inquired who the lady was," said Police Chief Jasper Ombati. "They got into an argument. His wife locked them in the bedroom and ran off."
Wanjiru, 24, then jumped to his death.
Kenya's Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, called it a blow to the entire sporting world.
"Wanjiru's death is not only a loss to his family and friends but to Kenya as a whole and the entire world athletics fraternity," Odinga said.
It's not the first dangerous dust-up between Wanjiru and his wife, Triza Njeri.
Last year, Wanjiru was charged with threatening to kill his wife with an AK-47. The charged were later dropped and the couple reconciled.
Wanjiru - whose 2008 showing in Beijing set the Olympic marathon record - has also won marathons in London and Chicago.
Comment