Olympic runner who died after boyfriend’s attack may get special honor in Paris
FILE - (L - R) Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi of Team Morocco, Rosemary Wanjiru of Team Kenya, Amane Beriso Shankule of Team Ethiopia, Rebecca Cheptegei of Team Uganda, Selly Chepyego Kaptich of Team Kenya and Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Team Israel cross the
The Olympic marathon runner who died earlier this month after being set on fire by her boyfriend may get a special honor in Paris.
Rebecca Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She competed for Uganda and finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei was 33 and living in Kenya at the time of the attack.
Authorities said her partner, Dickson Ndiema, bought a can of gasoline, poured it on her and set her on fire during a disagreement on Sept. 1, according to the Associated Press.
Roughly 80% of Cheptegei’s body was burned, and she was taken to a Kenyan hospital for treatment – where she died. Ndiema was also burned and was being treated at the same hospital.
READ MORE: Rebecca Cheptegei, Olympic marathon runner, dies after being set on fire by boyfriend
The city of Paris wants to honor the late runner by naming a sports venue after her.
The proposal was announced by city mayor Anne Hidalgo on Friday and will be discussed by city officials in October.
"Paris will not forget her and we will dedicate a sports venue to her, so that her memory and her story will remain among us, and help us carry even stronger the message of equality, which is a message carried by the Olympic and Paralympic Games," Hidalgo said.
City hall said in a statement, "Paris joins its elected representatives in expressing its support for the family of the athlete, victim of a femicide a few weeks after her participation in the Olympic Games."
Every 11 minutes on average, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member somewhere in the world, according to figures from UN Women, the agency promoting gender equality, and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
Other recent Olympic athletes killed in attacks
In 2023, Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechaser Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead with stab wounds.
In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee was found dead and a postmortem report stated that she was strangled.
In 2021, long distance runner Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death at her home. Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, was arrested and charged with murder, the case is ongoing.