Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei set on fire during attack in Kenya

Rebecca Cheptegei, who competed at the recent Paris Olympics, has suffered severe injuries. Photo / Uganda athletics federation

WARNING: This story deals with family violence and may be distressing.

An Olympic distance runner is in critical condition in a Kenyan hospital after she was set on fire, according to multiple reports. The athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei, is reportedly receiving treatment for burns on 75% of her body.

“We regret to announce that our athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who competed at the Olympics, has suffered severe injuries and is hospitalised at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret. This follows an incident involving her Kenyan boyfriend pouring petrol and setting fire on her,” the Uganda Athletics Federation said.

Cheptegei, a Ugandan athlete living in Kenya, was attacked in her house in Trans Nzoia County in western Kenya, near the Ugandan border. Cheptegei’s parents told the Associated Press (AP) their daughter bought land in Trans Nzoia to be closer to Kenya’s athletic training centres.

The 33-year-old long distance runner qualified to race for Uganda at this summer’s Paris Olympics and finished 44th in the women’s marathon.

Trans Nzoia County police said Cheptegei’s boyfriend poured a jerrycan of petrol on her and set her on fire during a disagreement there on Sunday, according to AP. Before the attack, AP reported, the couple were heard fighting over the land where the house was built, according to a report filed by the local chief.

Cheptegei’s boyfriend also sustained serious burns in the attack, Trans Nzoia County police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom told journalists. Both are receiving specialised treatment at the hospital in Eldoret, Kenya.

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

The attack on Cheptegei comes after other cases of violence in recent years against female athletes in Kenya.

In October 2021, Olympic distance runner Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death at her home in Iten, about 35km east of Eldoret. Six months later, Damaris Muthee Mutua, a Kenyan runner who competed for Bahrain, was found dead at the home of her boyfriend in Iten. A postmortem report said she was strangled.

Authorities identified Tirop’s husband as the primary suspect in her killing and he is facing murder charges, which he denies. A search for Mutua’s boyfriend continues.