Sammy Wanjiru Has Died, Questions abound, by Larry Eder

Sammy Wanjiru, 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon,
photo by PhotoRun.net

While questions abound, the facts, as we can tell them, are these: Sammy Wanjiru, the 2008 Olympic Champion, the 2009 London Champion, the 2008, 2010 Chicago Champion, is dead.
 
Let’s Run first picked up the story on Sunday afternoon, and RRW confirmed the story with Duncan Kibet.

As far as we can put the story together, here is what we have. Frederico Rosa, Wanjiru’s agent, had spoken to Sammy twice over the weekend, and Wanjiru was upbeat and spoke of how well his training was going again. Remember, Sammy had pulled out of the 2011 Virgin London marathon due to some injury issues.

Sometime on Sunday, Wanjiru’s wife found Sammy Wanjiru and another women in bed at their home. Per police reports, Wanjiru’s wife locked the bedroom door, and went to leave the house.
 
Here is where it gets unconvincing: Wanjiru is to then have jumped the sixteen feet from his first story balcony to the ground, some Police suggested as a way to stop his wife from leaving the compound. One Police spokesperon suggested that Wanjiru was trying to commit suicide.
Another police spokes person said it best, ” While we were not there to see why Sammy Wanjiru jumped, we do not suspect foul play.” 

Frederico Rosa, Wanjiru’s manager, is quoted on CNN as saying ” Wanjiru did not commit suicide.” There are also questions, per the BBC article of how he died falling only sixteen feet. The hospital spokes person noted that Wanjiru was unconscious, bleeding from the nose and mouth and could not be revived.

Whatever the answers to some questions, the results are the same-the most talented marathoner of this generation, Sammy Wanjiru is dead, at a very young age. We ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Sammy Wanjiru, 2009, home in Nyahururu, photo by PhotoRun.net

Within hours of the news of the death of Sammy Wanjiru, notes started be posted about how money had come to the young man too early. Fast living comes back to haunt you, noted another note. In Kenyan papers and websites, questions are being asked about Sammy Wanjiru and who was helping him find a way to live a sane life.

His reputation on the road was of a very nice young man, who liked to party a bit, but who also had some challenges trying to live a life out of the limelight. It was hard to do, when you win the Olympics at the age of 21 and by 24 had won London, and Chicago marathons and were the Marathon Majors marathoner of the year.

Sammy had everywhere to go and it was up. He had fought back from injuries to run an epic battle over 26.2 miles at the 2010 Bank of America Chicago marathon. As Paul Tergat, the former world record holder in the marathon noted, Sammy Wanjiru was on track to break the marathon world record.

This writer interviewed Sammy twice and enjoyed each time. The young man was thoughtful, a little shy, but also proud of his running and wanting to be the best. There was no bragadaccio, there was the confidence of a young athlete who had earned his victories.

Sammy Wanjiru was the James Dean of Kenyan distance running. Like James Dean, an actor taken away before we could see his greatest roles and talent mature, Sammy Wanjiru gave us just a taste of how good he really was. That taste, all of four years, is all, unfortunately, that we will have…..

Sammy Wanjiru, 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.net

NPR did very good coverage:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=136345101

Here is the BBC coverage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13414257