- Cheptegui was allegedly doused with gasoline and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend
- She suffered burns over 80 percent of her body and was treated in hospital
- In recent years, other athletes have also been found dead, with suspected partners.
World Athletics chairman Lord Coe has pledged to look at ways to better protect female athletes following the tragic death of marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei.
The Ugandan, who finished 44th in the marathon at the Paris Olympics last month, was allegedly doused in petrol and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend on Sunday after an argument at her home in Kenya.
Cheptegei suffered burns over 80 percent of her body and was treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit. She was pronounced dead on Thursday morning.
The 33-year-old woman’s death comes just over two years after that of Bahraini runner Damaris Mutua, who lived in Keynan, and was found strangled with a pillow over her face in the Rift Valley town of Iten.
In October 2011, Kenyan Agnes Tirop, who won two bronze medals in the 10,000 meters, was also found dead in the same city.
World Athletics president Lord Coe has pledged to do more to protect female athletes following the death of Rebecca Cheptegei (pictured)
Cheptegei was allegedly doused with gasoline and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend on Sunday
Coe revealed that he has been in contact with our councillors in Africa to see how he can help us
In both cases, the athletes’ partners were identified as the prime suspects. Tirop’s husband is accused of murder, which he denies, while the search for Mutua’s boyfriend continues.
Following news of Cheptegei’s death on Thursday, World Athletics president Coe said: ‘Our sport has lost a talented athlete in the most tragic and unthinkable circumstances.
‘Rebecca was an incredibly versatile runner who still had a lot to offer on the road, in the mountains and on cross-country trails.
‘I have been in contact with our councillors in Africa to see how we can not only help as the governing body of the sport that Rebecca competed in, but also to assess how we can adapt our safeguarding policies to include abuse outside of sport. We also want to bring together stakeholders from all disciplines of athletics to join forces and protect our female athletes from abuse of any kind as best we can.’
Renowned athletics TV commentator Rob Walker wrote on X: ‘I have seen great progress in East Africa over the last 20 years. But the treatment of successful female athletes by jealous husbands/boyfriends must now be addressed. This is simply appalling.’
In Kenya, reports of attacks on women have increased. The country’s sports minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, added: “This tragedy is a painful reminder of the urgent need to combat gender-based violence, which is increasingly affecting even elite sports.”
Cheptegei began her career in 2010 and was initially a 1500m runner before switching to long distances, finishing second in the Madrid and Cantalejo half marathons in 2011.
Athletics commentator Rob Walker called for crackdown on ‘jealous husbands/boyfriends’
Walker took to social media Thursday morning to share his thoughts on the news
Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in 2011, while her husband is charged with murder
Agnes Tirop is pictured with her husband Ibrahim Rotich, who is now on trial accused of murdering the promising track and field athlete
In 2022, she won gold in the uphill and downhill mountain race at the first World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand.
Cheptegei also won the Padua Marathon in Italy earlier that year, before finishing second in the Abu Dhabi Marathon in 2 hours 22 minutes and 47 seconds – the second-fastest time by a Ugandan woman.
Last year she finished 14th in the marathon at the World Championships in Budapest and 44th at the Olympic Games in Paris in a time of 2:32:14.
Fellow Ugandan runner James Kirwa said: ‘She was a very kind person. She helped us all, even financially, and she brought me training shoes when she came back from the Olympics. She was like an older sister to me.’