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This Ugandan Runner Who Competed In This Year’s Paris Olympics Has Died After Being Set On Fire By Her Boyfriend

33-year-old Rebecca Cheptegei, a distance runner who finished 44th in marathon at the Paris Olympics in August, was attacked outside her house in Kenya.

Igra Abdi

— 4 min read
This Ugandan Runner Who Competed In This Year’s Paris Olympics Has Died After Being Set On Fire By Her Boyfriend
uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend

This Ugandan runner who competed in this year’s Paris Olympics has died after being set on fire by her boyfriend.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
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33-year-old Rebecca Cheptegei, a distance runner who finished 44th in marathon at the Paris Olympics in August, was attacked outside her house in Kenya on Sunday, Sep. 1.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
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Her boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, reportedly poured 20 liters of petrol on her, setting her on fire during an argument when she returned from church.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
A protester marches while holding a placard during the demonstration. Protesters marched countrywide during the ‘Feminists March Against Femicide,' which was sparked by the recent brutal murders of Starlet Wahu, 26, and Rita Waeni, 20, in Kenya. (Photo by James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Cheptegei suffered extensive burns over 75% of her body.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
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She was rescued by neighbors and was taken to the hospital with her boyfriend, who is also being treated for severe burns.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
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Besides competing in the Paris Olympics, Cheptegei had won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2022.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
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This is the latest incident of gender-based violence against women athletes in Kenya.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
Activists hold up placards as they march through the Central Business District at a demonstration against an alarming rise in murders of young women in Nairobi on January 27, 2024. (Photo by Tony KARUMBA / AFP)

In 2021, Agnes Tirop, a Kenyan runner who competed in the Tokyo Olympics and placed 4th in the 5000-meter race, was stabbed to death by her husband.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
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uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
Agnes Jebet Tirop of Kenya celebrates after winning in women's 1500m during the Stockholm - 2019 Diamond League at Stockholms Olympiastadion on May 30, 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Marco Mantovani/Getty Images)

And in 2022, another Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete, Damaris Mutua, was murdered by her boyfriend in the same town as Tirop.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
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Tirop’s husband is facing murder charges, while Mutua’s boyfriend has still not been found.

uganda olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died attack boyfriend
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