Published on 10/09/2024
A picture of Rebecca Cheptegei appeared on a giant screen after the marathon events at the Paralympic Games in Paris in a tribute to the Ugandan runner who died after she was doused in petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend in Kenya.
Spectators applauded as the face of Cheptegei, who took part in the Paris Olympics marathon, was shown on the Esplanade des Invalides on Sunday.
Cheptegei died on Thursday, four days after her partner attacked her in the latest attack on a female athlete in the country.
The 33-year-old succumbed to the burns she suffered when her boyfriend poured petrol on her and set her ablaze in Kenya, making her the third female athlete to be killed in the country since October 2021.
Cheptegei, 33, suffered burns to more than 75 percent of her body in the August 31 attack.
The incident took place just weeks after Cheptegei participated in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, where she finished 44th.
On Friday, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the French capital would pay tribute to Cheptegei by naming a sports facility in her honour.
“She dazzled us here in Paris. We saw her. Her beauty, her strength, her freedom, and it was in all likelihood her beauty, strength and freedom which were intolerable for the person who committed this murder,” Hidalgo told reporters.
“Paris will not forget her. We’ll dedicate a sports venue to her so that her memory and her story remains among us and helps carry the message of equality, which is a message carried by the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Cheptegei is the third prominent sportswoman to be killed in Kenya since October 2021.
Kenyan Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen described Cheptegei’s death as a loss “to the entire region”.
“This is a critical moment— not just to mourn the loss of a remarkable Olympian, but to commit ourselves to creating a society that respects and protects the dignity of every individual,” chairman of the Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) Athletes Commission, Ganzi Semu Mugula, said on Friday.
