The Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Samuel ‘Sammy’ Wanjiru is believed to have killed himself by jumping from a balcony at his home.
The gold medallist, 24, jumped to his death following a row with his wife after she caught him with another woman, police said on Monday.
Wanjiru died on Sunday at his home in the town of Nyahururu, in the Rift Valley, said John Mbijiwe, the police chief in Kenya’s Central Province.
National police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said: ‘The fact of the matter is that Wanjiru committed suicide.’
Wanjiru’s fatal leap came after an argument with his wife, Triza Njeri, said a police official.
The athlete, who had been drinking, was with another woman in his home and was discovered by Mrs Njeri, the official said.
The discovery led to a furious row and Wanjiru apparently jumped to his death. The Olympian had a stormy relationship with his wife and a history of domestic problems.
Last December he was charged with wounding his security guard with a rifle, threatening to kill his wife and the illegal possession of an AK-47 assault rifle.
The runner denied all charges and his wife later withdrew her accusations and he was released on bail.
Wanjiru made an early start to his career, moving at 15 to Japan, where he attended school in Sendai and won several major cross-country events while also competing in track competitions.
He then moved to Europe, winning the Rotterdam Half Marathon in 2005 in a world-record time.
He twice improved on that record before stepping up to the full marathon in 2007 with a win in Japan’s Fukuoka Marathon.
The following year, he finished second in the prestigious London marathon.
The runner claimed the biggest prize of his career when he took Olympic gold in the 2008 Beijing Games.
Wanjiru became the first Kenyan to win a gold in the marathon, finishing in an Olympic record of two hours, six minutes, 32 seconds. He became the youngest runner to win four major marathons. Along with the Olympics, he won in London in 2009 and in Chicago in 2009 and 2010 — running the fastest ever time recorded in a marathon in the United States.
American marathon runner Ryan Hall posted on Twitter: ‘Incredibly sad news about Sammy. I am shocked and saddened.’