Murdered runner Damaris Muthee Mutua's career 'was picking up'

The village of Iten in Kenya has been shocked by the death of a female athlete for the second time in six months.

Damaris Muthee Mutua's death was announced last week, just months after Agnes Tirop, a two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medalist, was discovered stabbed to death in October.

Mutua, 28, did not have the same celebrity as Tirop, but her killing has reignited worries about femicide and the safety of female athletes in East Africa.

Mutua was born in Kenya and moved to Bahrain to compete, but she trained in Kapsabet, a village halfway between Iten and Eldoret that is known for developing and fostering long-distance runners.

Mutua earned bronze for Kenya in the 1,000m at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010.

Her greatest season was in 2018, when she set personal bests in the 20km (one hour, eight minutes, and 28 seconds - the best time of the year) while winning a race in Marrakesh, and the half-marathon (1:11:51) when finishing second in a competition in Mozambique.

She had a strong start to the year in 2022, finishing second in the Arab Cross Country Championship in Bahrain in February and third in the Luanda half-marathon in Angola in early April.

"She was a promising runner on the road. People characterize her as someone who is extremely disciplined "Nation Media Group's managing editor for sport, Elias Makori, said to BBC sports.

"Earlier this month, she was third in a very tough half-marathon race in Angola. She was found dead just when her career on the road was picking up."

'A life cut short' 

Mutua's Ethiopian boyfriend, who also trained at the same high-altitude center, is being sought.

Her passing has left Athletics Kenya "very heartbroken."

"Considering the achievements Damaris had made in her profession, it is another case of a life cut short and a talent rinsed down the toilet," the body stated in a statement.

"Damaris was a Kenyan by blood, even if she had switched allegiances. Her death is all the more tragic because this isn't the first time domestic violence has wiped out a promising future."

Some female athletes have expressed worries about domestic violence, other marital troubles, and the role of male coaches in exploiting runners, and Athletics Kenya has once again been confronted with these issues.

"It [Mutua's death] follows a series of awareness clinics held across the country to provide athletes with spiritual support and to examine their mental health, which is a big worry," Makori added.

"Just when we thought things were getting better, something like this happens."