Rebecca Cheptegei, who placed 44th during
the women’s marathon at the 2024 Olympics, is in the hospital after police say she
was set on fire by her alleged boyfriend. Rebecca Cheptegei is in critical condition. Three weeks after competing at the 2024
Olympics, the distance runner representing Uganda is in the hospital after she was set on
fire by her alleged boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, at her Kenyan residence Aug. 2, Tranz
Nzoi Country Police said per the BBC. "The couple were heard quarreling outside
their house," police chief Jeremiah Ole Kosiom told reporters, according to the
outlet. "During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid
on the woman before burning her." The 33-year-old—who placed 44th during
the women's marathon at the Paris Games Aug. 11—is being treated in the ICU
for burns on 75 percent of her body in addition to inhalation burns. Kosiom
also shared with Kenya's The Star that her boyfriend was also admitted with
burns covering 30 percent of his body. Authorities said, per the publication, that
the suspect snuck into Cheptegei’s home with a five-liter can of gasoline while the athlete
was at church. The suspect reportedly doused her with the liquid when she returned and lit her
on fire. Neighbors told the police they heard the altercation and pulled the pair out of
the flames. They were rushed to the hospital. The heartbreaking news comes nearly two years
after two high-profile female athletes in Kenya were killed. Distance runner Agnes Tirop,
25, was found with stab wounds in her neck in October 2021, according to police reports
per Reuters. The main suspect was her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, who was charged the following
month for her murder. The 43-year-old denied the charges and is still awaiting his trial.
And in April 2022, runner Damaris Mutua was found strangled in a rental home. The main suspect in
her killing was her boyfriend Eskinder Hailemariam Folie, Kenya's Nation reported at the time.
According to Iten police commander Tom Makori, per the outlet, he confessed to a friend that he
killed her before going into hiding. He is wanted for arrest, according to authorities,
The New Yorker reported in April 2023. Following Mutua's death, Kenyan runner
Mary Keitany pointed to the overarching conversation surrounding the athletes' deaths.
As a recent report from the Kenya Demographic Health Survey found that 40 percent of
women in the country have experienced physical or sexual violence from their
partners at least once during their lives. "The elephant in the room
is gender-based violence, which is now rife among athletes," Keitany told
Nation at the time. "We are calling for concerted efforts to sensitize athletes to run away from
abuse, which is leading to loss of lives."