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The athlete was found dead over one year ago at her home in Iten
Female athletes and officials from Adidas visited the home of the late multiple World Cross Country Champion Agnes Tirop to create awareness over gender-based violence.
The Adidas officials, led by Jennifer Thomas, were accompanied by Tirop’s Angels Foundation staff to Tirop’s home in Nandi County.
The long-distance runner was found dead in Iten, Elgeiyo-Marakwet County, on October 31, 2021, and his estranged husband Ibrahim Rotich remains in police custody over murder charges.
Her body had multiple stab wounds on her neck and abdomen.
Viola Lagat, the Tirop’s Angels Foundation chairperson, called for an end to gender-based violence and called on victims to report such cases.
"We are just at the first step of creating awareness on the GBV, which has been witnessed in the past and led to the loss of our hardworking athlete, whose star had just started shining.
"In the next few years, GBV should be something of the past. Our goal is to reach out to everyone and encourage them to speak up and fight the menace in the community. Those affected should come out and speak," said Lagat, as quoted by Nation Sport.
Adidas’ Thomas recalled how friendly Tirop was: "We are honoured to be here to see their home, to see the community, and to share a little bit of love for a past champion. I didn’t know her as well as my co-worker did, but Agnes always had a big smile on her face.
"It's lovely to see images of her smiling at their home. She was always laughing and joking with a big smile, and she was a champion of champions. We have great athletes in Kenya, we will continue working with them. It’s good to be on the ground to know their challenges," said Thomas.
Tirop won bronze medals in the 10,000 metres at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships.
At the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, she became the second-youngest-ever gold medalist in the women's race after Zola Budd of South Africa.
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