Ugandan distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who placed 44th in the marathon event at the 2024 Olympics, died Thursday after a gasoline attack, the New York Times reports. Police say the 33-year-old was returning from church with her two children when she was set on fire by a man she was in a relationship with. The Olympian suffered burns to over 80 percent of her body, and was being treated in the intensive-care unit of a hospital in Kenya, Dr. Owen Menach told the Times. The cause of death was multiple organ failure.
Per ESPN, Cheptegei lived in the small town of Endebess in western Kenya, where she had bought land to be closer to the country’s nearby training centers. According to Trans-Nzoia County police commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom, Cheptegei’s boyfriend Dickson Ndiema was “heard quarrelling outside their house” on Sunday before he was seen “pouring a liquid” on the athlete and “burning her.” A report filed by a local administrator claims the liquid was petrol Ndiema had purchased and that the couple had been arguing over the piece of land Cheptegei’s home was built on. The BBC added that the mother of two was rescued by neighbors who overheard the altercation.
In recent years, several other athletes have been victims of violent attacks by current or former partners in Kenya, per the BBC. In 2021, long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in the Rift Valley town of Iten; her husband is facing murder charges, though he has denied the crime in question. In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini runner Damaris Muthee Mutua was found strangled in her home in the same town; Mutua’s boyfriend is suspected of killing her but is still on the run. The following year, Ugandan Olympic runner Benjamin Kiplagat was reportedly stabbed to death outside of Eldoret — the same region where Cheptegei died.
According to the AP, Ndiema also received treatment for burn wounds at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret. Peter Ogwang, Uganda’s state minister for sports, said Thursday that Kenyan authorities will continue investigating Cheptegei’s death and hope to deliver a detailed report at a later date. Donald Rukare, the president of the Uganda Olympic Committee, also sent his condolences, writing, “This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete.”
This post has been updated.
