Kenya Mourns Untimely Death of 3,000m Steeplechase Star

The Kenyan athletics fraternity is in mourning following the death of 3,000m steeplechase star Jairus Birech.

Birech, the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medalist, died on Thursday night following an illness, robbing Kenya one of its best athletics talents.

Details are still scanty over the nature of the illness but Birech has been out of the picture for five years with his last race being in 2020 when he featured in that year’s Guadalajara Marathon in Mexico.

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The 2014 African champion was a revered steeplechase athlete who won two Diamond League Trophies as well as 10 series meetings and had a personal best of 7:58.41, clocked at the 2014 Brussels Diamond League, currently the 12th fastest of all-time in the 3,000m steeplechase.

Birech’s Diamond League trophy wins came in 2014 and 2015 a period when he was in great form with series meeting wins in Rome, Oslo, Lausanne, Birmingham and Monaco as well as the African title in Marrakech, Morocco during that period.

The 32-year-old was a silver medallist at the African Junior Athletics Championships in 2011 and went on to place fourth at the 2011 All-Africa Games.

For all his talents and great form between 2014 and 2015, a world title or medal eluded Birech as he missed the podium at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, when he clocked 8:12.62 for fourth behind Ezekiel Kemboi, Conseslus Kipruto and Brimin Kipruto who claimed a Kenyan clean sweep of the men’s steeplechase.

He was also favourite for gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland but was beaten by two seconds by fellow Kenyan Jonathan Ndiku.