What We Know About the Olympic Runner Who Was Set on Fire
In August, Ugandan distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei was in Paris competing at the 2024 Olympics, where she placed 44th in the marathon event. Weeks later, after returning from church with her two children, police say the 33-year-old was set on fire by her former boyfriend. The AP reports that the Olympian suffered burns to over 75 percent of her body, and she remains in critical condition in a hospital in Kenya.
Per ESPN, Cheptegei lives in the small town of Endebess in western Kenya, where she had bought land to be closer to the country’s nearby training centers. According to Trans-Nzoia County police commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom, Cheptegei’s boyfriend Dickson Ndiema was “heard quarrelling outside their house” on Sunday before he was seen “pouring a liquid” on the athlete and “burning her.” A report filed by a local administrator claims the liquid was petrol Ndiema had purchased and that the couple had been arguing over the piece of land Cheptegei’s home was built on. The BBC added that the mother of two was rescued by neighbors who overheard the altercation.
In recent years, several other athletes have been victims of violent attacks by current or former partners in Kenya, per the BBC. In 2021, long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in the Rift Valley town of Iten; her husband is facing murder charges, though he has denied the crime in question. In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini runner Damaris Muthee Mutua was found strangled in her home in the same town; Mutua’s boyfriend is suspected of killing her but is still on the run. The following year, Ugandan Olympic runner Benjamin Kiplagat was reportedly stabbed to death outside of Eldoret — the same region where Cheptegei is currently being treated.
According to the AP, Cheptegei and Ndiema are currently receiving treatment for burn wounds at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret while police continue investigating the crime scene.
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