Olympics: Ugandan runner set on fire by her own boyfriend

Rebecca Cheptegei celebrated the Olympic marathon in Paris and finished the race in 44th place. Now the woman from Uganda has become the victim of a case of serious violence. The 33-year-old was doused with petrol and set on fire. She was taken to hospital in the Kenyan city of Eldoret on Sunday with severe burns.

What is particularly bad is that the perpetrator comes from her immediate environment. According to the police, her partner is said to have ambushed her at her home while the athlete was in church. The trigger for this atrocity was a dispute over a piece of land. In addition to Cheptegei, her partner is also said to have been caught in the flames. Neighbors put out the flames and transported both of them to the hospital.

Cheptegei suffered serious injuries from the attack. The hospital reported that around 80 percent of her body surface was affected by burns. She was immediately transferred to the intensive care unit. Her condition remains critical, the hospital reported. She needs to be irradiated and her life is still in danger.

The suspected perpetrator is also in intensive care with burns on 30 percent of his body surface. The police are now investigating the friend for attempted murder. The sympathy on X is enormous.

“Our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei was brutally attacked by her boyfriend and suffered severe burns,” wrote Uganda Olympic Committee President Donald Rukare on Platform X. “Let us pray for Rebecca and wish her a full recovery.” Let us all say NO to violence, especially against women. This is totally unacceptable and we condemn this totally uncalled for attack.”

Cheptegei, 33, finished 44th in the women's marathon at the Paris Olympic Games. Before that, the athlete finished 14th at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest and won a gold medal at the 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai.