Samuel Wanjiru

Samuel Wanjiru

Kenyan track and field athlete
Date of Birth: 10.11.1986
Country: Kenya

Biography of Samuel Wanjiru

Samuel Kamau Wanjiru, a Kenyan athlete, was born in Kenya in 1986. At the age of 15, Wanjiru began his running career and quickly showed his exceptional talent. In 2002, he moved to Japan and enrolled in Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School, where he continued to pursue his passion for running. At just 16 years old, Wanjiru won the Fukuoka International Cross Country Championship.

Samuel Wanjiru

After graduating from high school in 2005, Wanjiru joined the Toyota Kyūshū athletics team. At the age of 17, he achieved a time of 13:12.40 in the 5000m race in Hiroshima, Japan. Wanjiru then transitioned to marathon distances and achieved remarkable results. His career peaked at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where he set an Olympic record by completing the marathon in 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 32 seconds.

Samuel Wanjiru

Throughout his career, Wanjiru also won prestigious marathons such as the Chicago Marathon in 2009 and 2010, the London Marathon in 2009, and the Fukuoka Marathon in 2007. He twice won the World Marathon Majors, the most prestigious marathon series. Notably, his personal record of 2:05:10 surpasses the Olympic record.

Samuel Wanjiru

Outside of his athletic achievements, Wanjiru found himself embroiled in controversies. In December 2010, he was arrested at his home in Nyahururu, Kenya, on charges of assaulting his wife and illegal possession of a Kalashnikov rifle. Although his wife later withdrew the accusations, the charge of illegal possession of a weapon remained. Wanjiru maintained his innocence, claiming he was framed.

Samuel Wanjiru

In January of the following year, Wanjiru survived a car accident with a truck but sustained no serious injuries. He also missed the London Marathon in April 2011 due to health issues. Tragically, on the evening of May 15, 2011, at the age of 24, Wanjiru took his own life by jumping from the balcony of his home in Nyahururu. According to the police, Wanjiru's wife, Triza Njeri, unexpectedly returned home and found him in bed with another woman. Njeri locked the couple in the bedroom and fled the house. This incident, coupled with the delicate situation, resulted in Wanjiru's untimely death.

Although the motive for Wanjiru's suicide seemed apparent, the police investigated his girlfriend's possible involvement in his death. Among Wanjiru's accolades are gold medals from the Fukuoka Marathon in 2007, the London Marathon in 2009, the Chicago Marathon in 2009 and 2010, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

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