Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei is battling for her life after being set on fire by her boyfriend.
Cheptegei competed in the Paris 2024 Olympics two weeks ago, but now she is being treated for severe burns covering 75% of her body.
She was attacked while returning from Church with her two children on Sunday in her small town Endebess, Trans-Nzoia County in Western Kenya.
The alleged attacker also sustained serious burns, local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom told journalists.
“The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” Mr Kosiom was quoted as saying.
Ms Cheptegei, from a region just across the border in Uganda, is said to have bought a piece of land in Trans Nzoia county and built a house, to be near Kenya’s many athletic training centres.
Ms Cheptegei finished 44th in the marathon at the recent Paris Olympics.
She also won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.
In April 2022, another female runner, Damaris Mutua, was found strangled in a home with a pillow over her face in the Rift Valley town of Iten.
It came months after record-breaking long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in the same town.
In both cases, their partners have been identified by the authorities as the main suspects.
Ms Tirop’s husband is currently facing murder charges, which he denies, while a search for Ms Mutua’s boyfriend continues. With BBC reports
