KENYA: ATHLETICS: Wife of Olympic marathon runner views his body in mortuary.

Record ID: 361978

  • Title: KENYA: ATHLETICS: Wife of Olympic marathon runner views his body in mortuary.
  • Date: 18th May 2011
  • Summary: CROWD OUTSIDE MORTUARY TRIZA NJERI BEING HELPED AWAY FROM MORTUARY SECURITY CONTROLLING THE CROWD
  • Embargoed: 2nd June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya, Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Obituaries,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA8HBFVPGXSS8DPMZ5X7AN1810U
  • Story Text: Somber mood in Wanjiru's home town of Nyahururu as the public views their hero's body.
    A large crowd gathered on Monday (May 16) to view the body of Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru after he was pronounced dead from injuries suffered in a fall.
    Wanjiru's wife Triza Njeri was helped by relatives and friends as she made the journey to the mortuary to view her husband's body.
    There she prayed over the body, sobbing with other family members. She was helped away after the viewing.
    Police in Nyahururu said that Triza Njeri and another woman had helped them in their investigation of the athlete's death. This came after he fell from a first floor balcony at his home on Sunday night (May 15).
    Regional police chief Jaspher Ombati had earlier said Triza Njeri had come home late and found Wanjiru in bed with another woman. She had locked them in the bedroom and run outside.
    Ombati said that Wanjiru then jumped "in a rage" from the balcony, suffering injuries in the fall from which he subsequently died.
    Wanjiru, aged 24, won Kenya's first men's marathon gold in Beijiing in 2008 and had been regarded in the sport as one of the greatest current talents in an east African country long renowned for its distance runners.
    He also won the prestigious London and Chicago marathons, but lately his private life was troubled.
    Nyahururu residents said Wanjiru had taken to heavy drinking of late and was stressed by personal problems.
    Last December, Wanjiru was charged with threatening to kill Njeri with an AK-47 assault rifle. The accusation was later withdrawn as his wife said they were reconciled, and he rolled his car in January after swerving to avoid an oncoming truck.
    Wanjiru was still due to appear in court later this month for the illegal possession of the weapon.
    Njeri and Wanjiru's female companion recorded statements at the police station in Nyahururu and were later released.
    Wanjiru's talent for running was spotted when he won a cross country selection trial in Kenya and he moved to Japan in 2002 as a young man to attend high school.
    The runner defied the heat of Beijing in 2008 to triumph in an Olympic record time of two hours, six minutes and 32 seconds at the games held in China.
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