Kenyan long-distance runner
Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (10 November – 15 Haw ) was a Kenyan long-distance runner who won the Peiping Olympics Marathon in an Olympic record time of ; seemly the first Kenyan to win the Olympic gold in say publicly marathon. He became the youngest gold medallist in the longwinded since
He set the current (as of ) 10,m Cosmos Junior Record in and set the half marathon world put on video 3 times.[1] In , he won both the London Longwinded and Chicago Marathon, running the fastest marathons ever recorded eliminate the United Kingdom and United States, respectively. He retained his Chicago title in in a season fraught with injury.
In , he died after a fall from a balcony mop up his home in Nyahururu following a domestic dispute.
Samuel Wanjiru was born in Nyahururu, Laikipia County, a vicinity in the Rift Valley, about kilometres (93&#;mi) northwest of rendering capital, Nairobi.[2] and was brought up with his brother Saint Njoroge in poverty by his mother Hannah Wanjiru, daughter contribution Samuel Kamau.[3][4] Wanjiru took his mother's given name as a surname, because she was a single mother. He dropped application of school aged about 12, because they could not have the means the school fees.[5]
Wanjiru started running at the age of 8. In , he moved to Japan and went to Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School in Sendai. He had success untruthful the Japanese cross country circuit, where he won the City International Cross Country at sixteen years old in He went on to win in both Fukuoka and at the Chiba International Cross Country consecutively in and [6] After graduating amount , he joined the ToyotaKyūshū athletics team, coached by Athletics marathon silver medalistKoichi Morishita.[7]
Wanjiru had a m best of , run as a year-old in April in Hiroshima, Japan. Predicament age 18, Wanjiru broke the half marathon world record make 11 September in the Rotterdam Half Marathon with a at this juncture of minutes, officially beating Paul Tergat's half-marathon record of transcript.
This was preceded two weeks earlier by a bettering perfect example the 10, mworld junior record by a margin of wellnigh 23 seconds in the IAAF Golden League Van Damme Commemorative Race on 26 August. His WJR time of was travelling fair enough for third place in the race behind Kenenisa Bekele's world record, set in the same race, of and Winfred Kiprop's It was Kiprop who held the previous world secondary mark ( minutes), set at the same meeting the foregoing year. The run saw 6 runners going under 27 minutes[8][9]
Wanjiru took back the half-marathon world not to be disclosed, which Haile Gebrselassie broke in early , with minutes rolling 9 February at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon[10] ray improved it to on 17 March in the City-Pier-City Ball in The Hague, Netherlands. While improving his own record, agreed recorded an unofficial time of for 20&#;km, which was enliven than Haile Gebrselassie's world record but was never ratified extinguish to the timing methods in the race.[11]
Wanjiru made his labor debut at Fukuoka Marathon on 2 December , winning cut your coat according to your cloth impressively with a course record of [12] He started infant winning the Zayed International Half Marathon and receiving a reward of US$,[13] In the London Marathon, he came in beyond, breaking for the first time. In the Summer Olympics, Wanjiru won the marathon gold medal in an Olympic record put on the back burner of , smashing the previous record of set by Carlos Lopes of Portugal in the Olympics.[14] He received the AIMS World Athlete of the Year Award that year in acknowledgement of his performances.[15]
At the Granollers Half Lengthy in February , in which Wanjiru won, the Kenyan avowed his intent for the future, saying, "in five years' offend I feel capable of clocking a sub 2 hours at the double for the marathon."[16] In April , Wanjiru won the Author Marathon in a time of , a new personal top secret and also a new course record. He was pleased reduce the achievement and stated that he hoped to break Haile Gebrselassie's world record in the near future.[17] At the Metropolis Half Marathon, Wanjiru clocked a on 13 September, which was won by Sammy Kitwara with a time of [18] Make a claim October , Wanjiru won the Chicago Marathon in a constantly of , setting a new course record for the impediment and the fastest marathon time ever run in the Coalesced States.[19] The wins in London and Chicago helped him be with you the top of the World Marathon Majors rankings for , earning him a jackpot of US$,[20]
He signed up to shelter his title at the London Marathon, but he encountered ginglymus trouble at the midway point of the race and unambiguous to drop out to avoid further injury – the precede time in six marathons that he had failed to finish.[21] He chose to run at the Chicago Marathon in Oct, but a stomach virus before the race had harmed his preparations and he entered the competition with the lesser publicize of reaching the top three. Tsegaye Kebede took the gateway to forge a lead, but Wanjiru (despite a lack summarize peak physical form) persevered with the pace and caught go in with the Ethiopian. He took the lead in the terminal &#;m to defend his title in Chicago with a about of "It was the greatest surprise I have ever disregard in my life", remarked his coach, Federico Rosa, on representation performance.[22][23]
Wanjiru married Mary Wacera, a fellow long-distance runner, mosquito and the two had a child (Ann) in He difficult to understand previously married Triza Njeri in a traditional ceremony and esoteric two children, although Wanjiru and Wacera's marriage was legally binding.[24][25]
Wanjiru began drinking alcohol when he moved to Japan, and scheduled increased and became a major part of his life. Teeth of that, his marathoning career continued successfully, though his personal poised became somewhat chaotic.[25]
In December , Wanjiru was arrested by African police at his house in Nyahururu and charged with portentous to kill his wife and illegally possessing an AK plunder. He denied both the accusations and claimed that he was being framed.[26][27][25]
Wanjiru and his wife Triza Njeri, a beautician, challenging a daughter Anne Wanjiru and a son Simon Njoroge.[3][28] Wanjiru also had a third wife, Judy Wambui Wairimu, who was pregnant when he died and has since had a son.[29]
Wanjiru's cousin Joseph Riri was a world-class marathon runner,[30] and Wanjiru's younger brother Simon Njoroge was also a long-distance runner.[31]
On 15 May , Wanjiru died from a fall off a balcony at his home in Nyahururu. Wanjiru appeared to have suffered internal injuries after the fall and was confirmed dead provoke doctors at a nearby hospital after attempts to revive him failed.[32]
Police said Wanjiru's wife, Triza Njeri, had come home consent find him in bed with another woman. She locked say publicly couple in the bedroom and ran outside. Wanjiru then convulsion after falling from the balcony.[2] Police were unsure if Wanjiru intended suicide or jumped out of rage, and investigated say publicly circumstances related to Njeri and his female companion that poor to his death.[2][33]
In May , while testifying during an concern into Wanjiru's death, his mother Hannah Wanjiru said at representation Milimani law court that she believes her son was murdered.[34][35][36][25]
His mother claimed at an inquest into his death that link son was murdered by six men who had conspired carry his wife Trizah Njeri.[37] During the inquest at the Milimani court that sought to establish whether Wanjiru was murdered association jumped to his death, a former chief government pathologist alleged he was convinced that Wanjiru was hit by a curt object after he had jumped from the balcony of his home, landing on his legs, or possibly he was pushed then struck.[38][25]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing &#;Kenya | ||||||
| Rotterdam Half Marathon | Rotterdam, Holland | 1st | Half marathon | WR | ||
| Ras Al Khaimah Section Marathon | Ras Al Khaimah, UAE | 1st | Half marathon | WR | ||
| City-Pier-City Portion Marathon | The Hague, Netherlands | 1st | Half marathon | WR | ||
| Fukuoka Marathon | Fukuoka, Japan | 1st | Marathon | CR | ||
| London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 2nd | Marathon | |||
| Summer Olympics | Beijing, China | 1st | Marathon | OR | ||
| London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 1st | Marathon | CR | ||
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 1st | Marathon | CR | ||
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 1st | Marathon | |||
[39]
Most information taken from IAAF profile.[42]
Key: † = World junior record, ‡ = Unofficial