World Athletics President, Lord Sebastian Coe, has paid glowing tribute to Ugandan marathon Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei who died from wounds allegedly sustained from an attack from her former boyfriend.
The talented sports lady is said to have been doused in petrol and set ablaze by her ex-boyfriend.
“Rebecca was an incredibly versatile runner who still had lots left to give on the roads, mountains and cross-country trails,” Coe said on Friday in a statement posted on X.
“I have been in touch with our Council Members in Africa to see how we can help not only in our capacity as governing body of the sport Rebecca competed in, but to assess how our safeguarding policies might be enhanced to include abuse outside of the sport, and bringing together stakeholders from all areas of athletics to combine forces to protect our female athletes to the best of our abilities from abuse of all kinds,” said Coe.
Cheptegei died on Thursday at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret ,where she had been admitted with severe burns.
Cheptegei, who finished 44th in the Paris Olympics women’s marathon, died as the government of Kenya was planning to airlift her to Nairobi for specialized treatment. According to the hospital she suffered 80 per cent burns. She was aged 33.
“We are still planning on the burial date and we have to wait for the communication from the government of Uganda because she was working with the discipline forces, Uganda People’s Defence Forces and we still don’t know what they are planning for now,” said Cheptegei’s father Joseph on the burial plans.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said that Cheptegei was an athlete who showcased the spirit of resilience in representing Uganda and East Africa at large and her death is not only a loss to Uganda and the community, but to the whole athletics fraternity region.
“The tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to combat gender-based violence in our society which in recent years has reared its ugly head in elite sporting circles,” said Murkomen.
The French capital city Paris which hosted the 2024 Olympics will pay tribute to Cheptegei by naming a sports facility in her honour, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced yesterday.
“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.”
