Marathon runner killed by poison arrow

Marathon runner killed by poison arrow

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23095805-5005961,00.html

From correspondents in Nairobi
January 23, 2008 11:33am

KENYAN marathon runner Wesley Ngetich has been killed by a poisoned arrow, the second international athlete to be claimed by post-election chaos.
The deadly arrow pierced through 34-year-old Ngetich's chest yesterday in western Kenya's Transmara district, near the world famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve, officials said today.
Ngetich won the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, in 2005 and 2007, but the post-election violence forced him and 13 other runners to withdraw from this month's Arizona Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Phoenix, Arizona.
"Words cannot express our feelings at this moment," said Scott Keenan, executive director of Grandma's Marathon.
"Our sympathies go out to Wesley's family and friends and our thoughts and prayers will remain with them during this extremely sad and difficult time.
"We loved having Wesley here at Grandma's and he enjoyed coming here. It is difficult to imagine that he is gone," Keenan said.
Ngetich set his personal best time of 2:12:10 when he finished second at the Chevron Houston Marathon in 2006.
On December 31, Lucas Sang, a member of the Kenyan 4 x 400m relay quartet at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, became a victim of the violence spurred by the December 30 declaration that President Mwai Kibaki had won the polls.
Sang, 45, who retired to farming after quitting the track, was killed as he walked home in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret while another top athlete, world marathon champion Luke Kibet, narrowly escaped death.
The normally stable east African country has been swept by bloodshed and riots and opposition loser Raila Odinga has refused to recognise the president, accusing him of rigging his way to victory.
The clashes have killed at least 772 people across the nation.