Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei has succumbed to horrendous injuries sustained after she was doused in petrol and set alight in her home.
Cheptegei, 33, suffered burns to 80 per cent of her body in Sunday’s brutal attack that was allegedly carried out by her ex-boyfriend, according to medical officials.
She was rushed to the intensive care unit at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, in the hopes doctors could stabilise her.
But the facility’s acting director Dr Owen Menach this morning confirmed Cheptegei died late last night.
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CAUSE OF DEATH
‘Unfortunately, we lost her after all her organs failed,’ Menach told Kenyan press.
The president of the Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) Donald Rukare said in a post on X today: ‘We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei… following a vicious attack by her boyfriend.
‘This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure,’ he added.
A press release from the UOC bearing Rukare’s signature later urged law enforcement agencies ‘to take swift and decisive action to bring the perpetrator to justice’.
