Former Commonwealth steeplechase silver medalist passes away

The 2014 African champion and Commonwealth Games silver medalist Jairus Birech is dead.

Birech, 32, passed away on Thursday, 18 September, after a period of illness.

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"Mutyo missing the family of Jairus Birech, Kesses, and the athletics family. We have lost a great champion; it’s too soon you left us without saying bye, Jairus, but it shall be well. It was just 2 days ago, there were plans for something for you from us friends, but see life now. Rest easy, champion," Julius Yego wrote on his social media platforms, mourning the Kenyan steeplechaser.

A junior African silver medalist from 2011, Birech had been out of active competition since Covid-19 hit, having last featured at the Guadalajara Half Marathon in Mexico on 16 February 2020, finishing tenth in a race won by Benson Kipruto.

Birech began competing in the steeplechase as a teenager and dipped under nine minutes in the water and barrier race for the first time in 2010, recording 8:50.0 minutes in Nairobi.

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He made his breakthrough at the international stage in the 2011 season with his first medal for Kenya at the African Junior Athletics Championships, where he settled for silver in a Kenyan 1-2 with Gilbert Kirui.

A successful Diamond League (DL) runner boasting two titles, Birech ran at his first DL race for a then Personal Best (PB) of 8:11.31, finishing fifth at the Meeting Areva in Paris, ranking him thirteenth in the world that year.

In his senior debut for Kenya, at the age of 18, he came fourth behind an Ethiopian trio in the steeplechase at the 2011 All-Africa Games.

He had a breakthrough season in the 2014 DL. After a fourth-place finish in Doha, he had back-to-back wins in Rome and at the Bislett Games, running a personal best and world-lead of 8:02.37 minutes in the latter.

He was a narrow second at the IAAF World Challenge Beijing, but came out top in national competition at the Kenyan Athletics Championships.

He was the world's dominant steeplechaser that year, losing only once between June and September.

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He was the favourite for the 2014 Commonwealth Games but was upset by fellow Kenyan Jonathan Ndiku, who beat Birech by two seconds, but he reversed that placing at the 2014 African Championships in Athletics to take the continental gold medal.

On the circuit, he won the DL races in Lausanne, Monaco, and Birmingham before going on to win the series final at the Memorial Van Damme, setting a new best of 7:58.41 minutes in the process.

This mark made him the eleventh man to complete the distance in under eight minutes and placed him tenth on the all-time list.

At Mozzart Sport, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Birech and the entire athletics fraternity. Rest in Peace, champ!