Ugandan Olympian hospitalized after being set on fire | Olympic News

Rebecca Cheptegie, who competed in the marathon at the Olympic Games last month, has suffered burns over 75 percent of her body after a brutal attack by her boyfriend, police claim.

A Ugandan Olympic athlete has been hospitalised in Kenya after being set on fire by her partner, police said.

Rebecca Cheptegie, who competed in the Paris Olympics last month, suffered burns over three-quarters of her body when her partner poured gasoline over her and set her on fire, police said Monday night.

The attack took place on Sunday afternoon at Cheptegie’s home in Kenya’s western Trans Nzoia County. The 33-year-old athlete is now in a critical condition in a hospital in Eldoret, Kenya.

Her Kenyan partner and alleged attacker, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, was also injured in the flames, police said. Police said he broke into Cheptegie’s home while she was at church.

Cheptegie’s parents, who are reportedly on their way from Uganda, said their daughter has bought a house and land in the region to take advantage of the training facilities.

Cheptegie, who finished 44th in the women’s marathon at the 2024 Olympics, is not the first high-profile athlete to make headlines in Kenya as a victim of domestic violence.

In 2021, record-breaking Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in her home. Tirop’s estranged husband Emmanuel Ibrahim Rotich, who denies involvement, is now on trial for her murder.

Tirop’s family and other Kenyan athletes have set up a foundation in her honor to combat gender-based violence: Tirop’s Angels. A center recently opened in the western Kenyan town of Iten.