Who was decorated volleyball star Janet Wanja

On the morning of Friday, December 27, 2024, Kenyans woke up to news of the death of volleyball legend Janet Wanja.

She passed on while undergoing treatment at the MP Shah hospital in Nairobi.

Wanja fell ill in August shortly after returning from the Paris Olympics, where she served as the Malkia Strikers' fitness trainer.

Before that, she had played for Malkia Strikers as a setter for at least 10 years.

Wanja was born on February 24, 1984, in Nairobi. She died at the age of 40.

While little is known about her primary education, she went to Mukumu Girls High School for her secondary education, and this is where she emerged as a top volleyball player.

She would later on join the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) volleyball club, where she started playing professionally, before she later on joined the Kenya Pipeline, where she played until her retirement from the sport.

Wanja made her Olympic debut for the national team in 2004, at the age of 19, in the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

In 2007, she was part of Kenya's national side that won its seventh victory at the Women's African Volleyball Championship. In the finals, they played against Algeria. She would then be voted for as the best setter in the championship.

Former Malkia Srikers setter Janet Wanja/FILE

The volleyball star would later on represent Kenya at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan.

After announcing her retirement from playing, Wanja was named as one of the coaches for the Kenya women's volleyball team Malkia Strikers earlier this year.

As a member of the coaching staff, she was with the team in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and the 2024 World Challenger Cup in the Philippines.

Wanja came from a family with an eye for sports. Her elder brother Kevin Kimani also played for AFC Leopards football club and the men’s national football team Harambee Stars.