Rebecca Cheptegie, who ran in last month's Olympic marathon, has burns covering 75 percent of her body after a brutal attack by her boyfriend, police say.
A Ugandan Olympic runner has been hospitalized in Kenya after her partner set her on fire, police say.
Rebecca Cheptegie, who competed at last month's Paris Olympics, suffered burns to three-quarters of her body when her partner poured petrol on her and set her on fire, police said late on Monday.
The attack took place on Sunday afternoon at Cheptegie's home in Trans Nzoia County, western Kenya. The 33-year-old athlete is now in critical condition in a hospital in Eldoret, Kenya.
Her Kenyan partner and alleged attacker, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, was also injured in the flames, according to police, who said he broke into Cheptegie's home while she was at church.
Cheptegie's parents, who are reportedly travelling to see her from Uganda, said their daughter bought a house and land in the area to take advantage of her training facilities.
Cheptegie, who placed 44th in the women's marathon at the 2024 Olympics, is not the first high-profile athlete to make headlines as a victim of domestic assault in Kenya.
In 2021, record-breaking Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in her home. Tirop's ex-husband, Emmanuel Ibrahim Rotich, who denies involvement, is now on trial for her murder.
Tirop's family and other Kenyan athletes launched a foundation in her honour to combat gender-based violence – Tirop's Angels – which recently opened a centre in the western Kenyan town of Iten.
