Rebecca Cheptegei’s
Olympic swimmer Rebecca Cheptegei’s ex-boyfriend sets her on fire, killing her.
Rebecca Cheptegei, an Olympic athlete, was burned and soaked in gasoline by a rejected partner a few days before.
The Sunday attack severely burned the 33-year-old Ugandan marathon runner, who had competed in the Paris Olympics.
Authorities in the north-west area of Kenya, where Cheptegei resided and trained, reported an attack on her after she returned from church with her two daughters.
Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, said he lost a “very supportive.” daughter. Her fellow Ugandan racer James Kirwa told the BBC about her compassion and financial aid to other runners.
The athlete and her ex-partner argued over land, according to a municipal administrator’s report. Police said an investigation is underway.Rebecca Cheptege
Cheptegei, who is from Uganda just across the border, may have bought land in Trans Nzoia county and built a house to be near Kenya’s top sports training institutes.
Violence against women is a major issue in Kenya. A 2022 national study found that 34% of women had been physically assaulted.
Kenya’s Minister of Sports, Kipchumba Murkomen, said “This tragedy is a stark reminder of the urgent need to combat gender-based violence, which has increasingly affected even elite sports.” “This tragedy is a stark”
A.P. Rebecca Cheptegei debuts at Kapchorwa, Uganda’s Discovery 10 kilometer road event on January 20, 2023.A.P.
Rebecca Cheptegei’s father said she was their main income.
Mr. Cheptegei told the journalists outside his daughter’s hospital that Kenya should ensure justice was done after her death.
He said, “We have lost our breadwinner,” and wondered how her thirteen- and twelve-year-old children would “proceed with their education.”
Dr. Kimani Mbugua, a consultant at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, told local media that the staff did everything they could to help the athlete, but she “had a severe percentage of burns, which unfortunately led to multi-organ failure, which ultimately led to her passing this morning at 05:30 [02:30 GMT].”
Kirwa called Cheptegei “a very affable person.” in a BBC interview after visiting her in the hospital. She gave me a pair of her training shoes after the Olympics and helped all of us financially. She’s like an older sister to me.
The Ugandan Athletics Federation said on X, “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei, who tragically fell victim to domestic violence early this morning.” The federation strongly condemns such atrocities and demands justice. I wish her spirit eternal rest.Rebecca Cheptege
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Hearing this tears my heart. “What is even more heartbreaking is the fact that this is not the first time that the athletics community has lost such an incredible female athlete to domestic violence,” wrote British Olympian Eilish McColgan on X.
Cheptegei’s ex-boyfriend was also hospitalized in Eldoret with minor burns. He is in intensive care, but Moi hospital Dr. Owen Menach says his health is “improving and stable”.
The boyfriend poured a substance on the woman before setting her on fire during the fight.
Uganda Athletics Federation member Rebecca Cheptegei
Cheptegei won the 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand.
“This vicious and senseless crime took a brilliant athlete. Uganda’s Olympic committee president Donald Rukare said on X that her legacy will live on.
Her father told reporters earlier in the week that he wanted to pray “for justice for my daughter.” He said he had never seen such evil in his life.
In the recent Paris Olympics, Cheptegei placed 44th in the marathon.
She also won gold at the 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
She died after East African athletes Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua in 2021 and 2022, respectively. In each case, officials have blamed their spouses. Both of her teammates died before her.
While Mutua’s boyfriend is searched for, Tirop’s husband is being investigated for murder, which he denies.
