Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei has succumbed to her injuries after she was doused in petrol and set alight in her home in Kenya.

The attack comes weeks after she represented her country at the Paris Olympics, where she finished 44th in the women’s marathon event.

Cheptegei was rushed to a Kenyan hospital and was in critical condition with more than 75% burns on her body after being set ablaze by her ex-lover following an argument. The incident, which occurred last Sunday in Trans Nzoia County, has been described by authorities as stemming from a domestic dispute involving her partner.

It was said that the alleged attacker also sustained serious burns, as reported by the local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom in his statement to journalists.

“The couple were heard quarreling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” Kosiom was quoted as saying.

Following the attack, the 33-year old Cheptegei was initially treated at Kitale County Referral Hospital before being transferred to Eldoret for intensive care. She was to be airlifted to Nairobi for specialized treatment, but died before this could be done.

Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei, also a Vice President of World Athletics, expressed his dismay at the attack, emphasizing that such acts of violence should never be tolerated, especially within the sports community.

“The incident that happened to our athlete from Uganda is really unfortunate and sad because you can’t harm somebody due to disagreements about property, especially from a partner. As a federation, we condemn this in the strongest terms possible because that is not how we are supposed to live,” said Tuwei.

Cheptegei’s case is now the most recent in the number of tragic events from the past, including the deaths of other athletes in the region under violent circumstances.

In 2022 Kenyan-born athlete Damaris Mutua was found dead in Iten, a world-famous running hub in the Rift Valley in the west of the country. Her death followed the murder of record-breaking runner Agnes Tirop, 25, who was found stabbed to death at her home in Iten in 2021.

In 2023, Ugandan Olympic runner Benjamin Kiplagat was also found stabbed to death in a car in Eldoret in the west of Kenya.