Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei Dies After Alleged Arson Attack by Ex-Boyfriend

Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei Dies After Alleged Arson Attack

Ugan­dan Olympic marathon run­ner Rebec­ca Chep­tegei has died after she was alleged­ly set on fire in a bru­tal petrol attack by her ex-boyfriend. 

The 33-year-old ath­lete suf­fered severe burns over 75% of her body and was in crit­i­cal con­di­tion before suc­cumb­ing to her injuries.

Tragic Incident and Police Investigation

Accord­ing to local reports, Chep­tegei’s ex-boyfriend snuck into her home while she and her two chil­dren were at church and poured petrol on her before set­ting her alight. The cou­ple was report­ed­ly locked in a bit­ter dis­pute over a piece of land.

The sus­pect was also engulfed by the flames and rushed to the hos­pi­tal. Police have launched an inves­ti­ga­tion into the inci­dent, which they are treat­ing as a case of domes­tic violence.

Cheptegei’s Accomplished Athletic Career

Rebec­ca Chep­tegei was a cross coun­try, long dis­tance, and marathon run­ner who rep­re­sent­ed Ugan­da in glob­al com­pe­ti­tions since 2010. She most recent­ly com­pet­ed in the Paris 2024 Olympics, fin­ish­ing 44th in the wom­en’s marathon race.

Chep­tegei was known for her suc­cess in the IAAF World Cross Coun­try Cham­pi­onships, World Moun­tain and Trail Run­ning Cham­pi­onships, and World Ath­let­ics Cham­pi­onships. She was a ris­ing star in the sport, with her promis­ing career trag­i­cal­ly cut short.

Tributes and Calls for Justice

The Ugan­da Olympic Com­mit­tee (UOC) expressed deep sor­row over Chep­tegei’s pass­ing, call­ing it a “cow­ard­ly and sense­less act” and urg­ing law enforce­ment to “bring the per­pe­tra­tor to jus­tice.” Trib­utes poured in from across the sports com­mu­ni­ty, hon­or­ing the ath­lete’s lega­cy and talent.