Ugandan runner’s death highlights “a larger, disturbing pattern of violence” against female athletes
Olympian and long-distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei died Thursday after sustaining mortal burn wounds to 80% of her body in a gasoline attack last weekend. She was 33.
Dr. Owen Menach, who is on staff at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in the city of Eldoret, confirmed Cheptegei’s death via multiple organ failure to the New York Times. In addition to kidney failure, which the Times reported set in at the time of Cheptegei’s initial hospitalization, she also sustained inhalation burns.
Kenyan police reported that Cheptegei, a Ugandan athlete who finished in 44th place in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics in August, was doused in gasoline and set on fire by her boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, on Sunday afternoon. Authorities also noted that the couple had been embroiled in an argument over an unknown matter before the attack took place. Cheptegei’s father, Joseph Cheptegei, told reporters the dispute had stemmed from a property disagreement, per NBC.
Cheptegei lived in an area of Kenya known for being well-suited to high-altitude training, as noted by The Associated Press. She earned a spot competing at Paris, her first Olympic Games, after completing the Abu Dhabi Marathon in 2 hours and 22 minutes in 2022, a Ugandan record.
