A Ugandan athlete was allegedly brutally attacked and set on fire by her boyfriend just weeks after competing in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.
Marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, 33, from Kenya, was hospitalized in critical condition with burns to 75 percent of her body. BBCCheptegei’s boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, allegedly doused her with petrol and set her on fire over an apparent dispute over land he had purchased in Trans Nzoia County, which he was said to have bought to be closer to his athletic training centres in Kenya.
Cheptegei was returning from church with her two children when the attack happened. A report by local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom said the couple were heard arguing over land before the fire started.
“During the argument, the boyfriend was seen pouring liquid on the woman and then setting her on fire,” Kosiom told local reporters. Neighbors reportedly intervened and helped rescue her.
Ndiema also suffered burn injuries and is receiving treatment at the same hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret city. The hospital’s senior director of clinical services, Dr Owen Benach, told reporters that a “high-profile patient” was “fully sedated due to the extent of the burns”, adding that the hospital was well-equipped to treat his extensive injuries.
Cheptegei finished 44th in the women's marathon at the last Olympics. She previously won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.