Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei has died after she sustained burns to 80% of her body when she was allegedly set on fire by her boyfriend.
Cheptegie, 33, passed away Thursday at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, where she had been receiving treatment, ESPN reported. Cheptegei had recently competed in the Paris Games.
Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said Monday that the attack, which occurred the day before just across the border from Uganda, began over a dispute between Cheptegei and her boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, the BBC reported. Cheptegei reportedly had returned from church with her two children before the argument began.
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“The couple were heard quarreling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” Kosiom said, according to the BBC.
Ndiema was also injured in the attack and treated at the hospital.
“[Ndiema] is believed to have sneaked into the compound at around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday while the wife and the children were in church. Upon returning, Dickson, who had procured petrol, began pouring it on Rebecca before he set her ablaze.”
Neighbors reportedly rescued the couple and put out the flames. The dispute reportedly involved Cheptegei purchasing property and building a house in Trans Nzoia to be closer to training facilities. She placed 44th in the Paris Olympics marathon over the summer. She previously won a gold medal at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.
It is unclear whether Ndiema has been charged with any crimes. Peter Ogwang, Uganda’s minister of state for sports, said authorities in Kenya were investigating the attack, ESPN reported.
Government data from 2022 indicates nearly 34% of Kenyan girls and women aged 15-49 have been the victims of physical violence, the outlet noted, adding that married women were at a higher risk. About 41% of married women in Kenya had experienced physical violence, the government survey found.
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Cheptegei, as a famous athlete, was at particular risk because of her wealth, nonprofit founder Joan Chelimo told ESPN. Chelimo’s nonprofit, Tirop’s Angels, was founded by current and former athletes to combat domestic violence.
“They get into these traps of predators who pose in their lives as lovers,” she told ESPN.
Cheptegei is not the only athlete in Kenya to have been the victim of domestic violence. In October 2021, Olympic runner Agnes Tirop was stabbed multiple times in her neck, allegedly by her husband, Ibrahim Rotich. He was charged with her murder but pleaded not guilty. He was freed on bail and has not been tried yet.