Ugandan long-distance runner Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead on New Year Eve in Eldoret, Kenya.
According to Kenyan media, the body was found in a car in Texas near Kimumu Secondary School along the Eldoret-Iten Road. The car is said to be for his brother and they both live in the same area.
Moiben sub-county police commander Stephen Okal said the body of the athlete was found with injuries on the neck.
“Our officers are on the ground following crucial leads,” Okal was quoted by local media.
Benjamin Kiplagat (4 March 1989 – 31 December 2023, Magoro, Bukwo, Uganda) was a Ugandan long-distance runner specializing in the 3000 metres steeplechase.
Kiplagat took up running following the success of Boniface Kiprop, who is from the same village as Kiplagat, in the 2004 World Junior Championships. He began by competing in the 10,000 metres, but on the advice of his coach, he dropped down to the 1500 and 5000 m.
He made his international debut at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships, having qualified by finishing 6th in the Ugandan Junior Cross Country Championships. That year he also qualified for the World Junior Championships. There, he set a new national junior record of 8:35.77, which he then lowered to 8:34.14 in the final, where he finished 6th.
In 2008, he finished 4th in the World Cross Country Championships. That year, he lowered the Uganda record to 8:16.06 and then 8:14.29 before finishing second in the World Junior Championships.
His 2009 season was disrupted by malaria and typhoid, but he still managed to further lower the Ugandan national record to 8:12.98. He was again affect by malaria, and a boil on his leg, in 2010, but again lowered the Ugandan record to 8:03.81. He finished 4th at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
