Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after allegedly being doused in petrol and set alight by her former partner, was due to be buried on Saturday with full military honors.
Three weeks later her former boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, allegedly attacked Cheptegei as she returned from church with her two daughters and younger sister in the village of Kinyoro, Kenya police and her family said.
“I don’t think I am going to make it,” she told her father while being treated in hospital, he said.
Born in eastern Uganda in 1991, she met Marangach during a training visit to Kenya, later moving to the country to pursue her dream of becoming an elite runner.
Marangach died a few days after Cheptegei, from burns allegedly sustained during the attack, dividing opinion among the local running community.
Persons:
Rebecca Cheptegei, Cheptegei, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, Ferenc Isza, Joseph Cheptegei, ”, “, ” Andrew Kasuku, Marangach, marathoner Viola Cheptoo, Anne Hidalgo
Organizations:
Paris Olympics, Kenya police, Getty, Reuters, Kenyan, Tirop’s
Locations:
Kenya, Kinyoro, Budapest, Paris, AFP, Uganda, Thailand, Italy, “ Paris