Olympic distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei was set on fire by her boyfriend Sunday, according to police.
Cheptegei, who competed for Uganda in the 2024 Paris Olympics, was doused in gasoline and set on fire by her boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, at their home in Kenya after an argument over property, according to the BBC. She suffered burns to more than 75% of her body, local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom told reporters.
Neighbors rescued her and took her to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, according to the Ugandan Athletics Federation.
(From L to R) Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru, Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, Uganda’s Rebecca Cheptegei and Kenya’s Selly Chepyego Kaptich compete in the women’s marathon final during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on August 26, 2023. (Photo by FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty Images)
“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.
We regret to announce that our athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who competed at the Olympics has suffered severe injuries and is hospitalized at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret. This follows an incident involving her Kenyan boyfriend pouring petrol and setting fire on her pic.twitter.com/rgnWvgTpkb
— Uganda Athletics Federation-UAF (@UgaAthletics2) September 3, 2024
Cheptegei bought a piece of land in Trans Nzoia, just over the Kenyan border from Uganda, to build a home and be close to the nation’s many athletic training centers, the BBC reported. (RELATED: International Boxing Association Demands Clarification From Olympics On Boxing Match Qualifications)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – AUGUST 26: Rebecca Cheptegei of Team Uganda leads the field in the Women’s Marathon during day eight of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 on August 26, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
Uganda’s Rebecca Cheptegei (C) applies an ice bag on her head as she competes in the women’s marathon of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on August 11, 2024. (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
The athlete finished 44th in the marathon at the recent Paris Olympics and won gold at the World Mountain Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.
Runner Damaris Mutua was found strangled in her Rift Valley home in Iten, Kenya, in April 2022. Long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in the same town just months prior.
