Inquest Opened Into Marathoner’s Death
Kenyan authorities hope an inquest will put to rest conflicting reports of the circumstances surrounding Sunday’s death of reigning Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru, 24.
All accounts indicate Wanjiru fell from the first-floor balcony of his Rift Valley home following a domestic dispute with his wife, the second such incident reported since December.
At question is whether the death was an accident, a murder or a suicide.
"So far we don’t think he was pushed or it was his intention to end his life," police spokesman Charles Owino told Bloomberg on Tuesday. "There is a feeling maybe he thought the distance was short enough he could land safely, but that’s just us imagining. The investigation has just started."
Owino also repeated but fell short of confirming the possibility that Sunday’s fight started after Wanjiru’s wife found him at home with someone else, as was reported Monday by a police commander in the runner’s hometown of Nyahururu – also the scene of the crime.
"Allegedly he was with another woman, his wife locked the door, and he couldn’t access outside through the normal entrance," Owino told the news agency.
Wanjiru was due to appear in court later this month to face a prior charge of illegal possession of a firearm. Other charges stemming from the Dec. 29 disturbance – including wounding his security guard with the butt of an AK-47 and threatening to kill his wife and maid – were dropped in March.
"His death is a big loss and has robbed this nation and the world of a rising star and a role model," Kenyan IOC member and NOC president Kip Keino said in a statement.
"It is because of his prowess of becoming the first Kenyan to win a marathon Olympic gold medal that the country’s national anthem was the last to be played on the grand arena shortly before the closing ceremony [in Beijing]."
Field of Play Complete for Munich
Munich 2018’svenue plan now has "the last piece to the puzzle" – and just in time.
Less than 24 hours before its technical presentation to IOCmembership in Lausanne, the Bavarian bid announced that the land needed to stage the Winter Games is entirely under contract.
"I am happy that the final section of the field of play land has been secured, adding the last piece to the puzzle," bid chair Katarina Witt said Tuesday in a statement.
"Now we are 100% ready for a Winter Games in 2018."
According to Munich, the holdout was a portion of the finish area to the Kandahar downhill slope in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, planned as the site for alpine ski events.
Securing the necessary land from townspeople in Garmisch has long been one of the bid’s chief obstacles, as has securing their support.
Tuesday’s all-clear comes 10 days after a referendum on the resort town’s participation in the bid returned 58 percent in favor of the ballot question backing the Olympics.
Ryder Cup Bound for France
France will host at least one major sporting event in 2018.
As Annecy readies for the IOC bid cities briefing in Lausanne, Paris meanwhile beat out rival candidates Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain on Tuesday for hosting rights to the 2018 Ryder Cup.
"This new success puts France's expertise in organizing the greatest international competitions on center stage," bid CEO Charles Beigbeder said in a statement.
"We hope for the same success for Annecy 2018 on 6th July in Durban."
The French Golf Federation won despite calls for Spain to be awarded the event as a tribute to late golfer Seve Ballesteros, also patron of the Madrid bid.
Instead, Le Golf National course outside Paris will stage the biennial showdown between golfers from Europe and the United States. Hosting rights alternate between the two, as does the responsibility of choosing a host.
UN Official to Visit Rio Works
A United Nations official will take a tour of Olympic works when he visits Rio de Janeiro this summer.
"[Rio 2016 president Carlos] Nuzman offered me to visit a number of projects and initiatives during my nexttravel to Rio in July, to be able to gain a first-hand impression of thesituation and the progress on that," special adviser to the secretary-general on sport for development and peace Wilfried Lemke said Tuesday in a statement.
"I can assure you that we will continue towork on similar matters of relevance to both our organizations."
Nuzman's invitation came in Geneva during last week'sInternational Forum on Sport, Peace and Development, an event jointly organized by the IOC and Lemke'sUN Office on Sport for Peace and Development.
Written by Matthew Grayson.
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