NAIROBI, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei died on Thursday, four days after she was doused in petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend in Kenya, in the latest attack on a female athlete in the country.
Cheptegei, 33, who competed in the Paris Olympics, suffered burns to more than 75% of her body in Sunday’s attack, Kenyan and Ugandan media reported.
She is the third prominent sportswoman to be killed in Kenya since October 2021.
“We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei… following a vicious attack by her boyfriend,” Donald Rukare, president of Uganda Olympics Committee, said in a post on X.
“May her gentle soul rest in peace and we strongly condemn violence against women,” he said.
The runner, who finished 44th in Paris, was admitted to a hospital in the Kenyan Rift Valley city of Eldoret after the attack.
Reporting by George Obulutsa, Humphrey Malalo, Sonia Rao in Nairobi, John Wamanya in Eldoret and Elias Biryabarema in Kampala; Writing by Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Gareth Jones and Toby Chopra
