The world has lost a talented Olympic Marathon runner, Rebecca Cheptegei, who was tragically doused in petrol by her estranged lover and set on fire in front of her teenage daughters.

Unfortunately, the Ugandan athlete’s body was 80% burned before she was rushed to the hospital. According to the doctor, her severe burns led to kidney and cardiovascular failure, causing her to succumb to her injuries.

She must have fought hard to stay alive, but her burnt scars ultimately severed the connection between her body and soul, and she finally succumbed to her early grave on 5th September, 2024.

Cheptegei’s neighbours revealed that the cause between her ex- boyfriend and the deceased was a quarrel over a piece of land where her house was built in Kenya’s Rift Valley region.

According to the father, Joseph Cheptegei, the athletes had bought land there to be near the many training centers in the region, considered to be the home of long-distance runners.

He also revealed that since she started encountering persistent threats from her former partner, her performance was hindered by the emotional distress but she persevered and participated in the Women’s Marathon at Paris Olympics, where she finished 44th.

Tragically, this situation is one too many deaths involving female athletes at the hands of their partners, sparking widespread outrage and calls for action to address the scourge of gender-based violence.

Rebecca Cheptegei is the third top athlete to be killed in Kenya in the last three years. In 2022, Damaris Mutua, a Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete, was brutally strangled in her own home.

Similarly, in 2021, Olympic long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death at her residence in Iten, near Eldoret. Tirop’s husband is currently on trial for her murder, a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of gender-based violence.
Rebecca Cheptegei was just 33-year -old