Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei passed away a few days after her ex-boyfriend doused her in gasoline and set her on fire.
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Following the attack on Sunday, the 33-year-old Ugandan marathon runner—who recently participated in the Olympics in Paris—suffered from severe burns.
Cheptegei lived and trained in north-west Kenya; according to the local authorities, she was targeted when she and her two girls came home from church.
Joseph Cheptegei, her father, announced that he had lost a “very supportive” daughter. James Kirwa, a fellow racer from Uganda, spoke with the BBC about her magnanimity and how she had provided financial support to other runners.
The sportswoman and her ex-partner allegedly fought over a plot of land, according to a report submitted by a municipal official. According to police, an investigation is ongoing.
Cheptegei, who is believed to have purchased a site in Trans Nzoia County and constructed a home close to Kenya’s top training facilities for athletes, is thought to be from a region just across the border in Uganda.
The rising number of violent incidents involving female athletes raises worries.
Speaking with reporters outside the hospital where his daughter had received treatment, Mr. Cheptegei requested that the Kenyan government see to it that justice was served in the wake of his daughter’s passing.
He continued, saying, “We have lost our breadwinner,” and expressed concern over how her two daughters, who are now 12 and 13, would “proceed with their education.”
The athlete passed away after all of her organs failed, according to Dr. Owen Menach, the director of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, who spoke with the local media.
Kirwa, who had visited Cheptegei in the hospital, that she “was a very affable person.” When she returned from the Olympics, she got me training shoes and helped us all out financially. To me, she resembled an elder sister.”
In a post on X, Uganda’s athletics federation said : “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell victim to domestic violence. As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest In Peace.”