Ugandan athlete was set on fire by her boyfriend just weeks after participating in the Olympic Games in Paris

A Ugandan athlete living in Kenya was set on fire by her boyfriend and is currently being treated for 75% burns, police said.

Rebecca Cheptegei, a long-distance runner who finished 44th in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was attacked in her home in western Trans Nzoia County.

Trans Nzoia police commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said that during an argument on Sunday, Cheptegei's boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, bought a jerrycan of petrol, poured it on her and set her on fire.

Ndiema also suffered burns. Both are receiving specialist treatment at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret city.

Cheptegei's parents said their daughter bought land in Trans Nzoia to be close to the county's many sports training centres.

A report from the local chief states that the couple was heard arguing over the land on which the house was built before the fire broke out.

In 2023, Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechase runner Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead with stab wounds.

In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee was found dead and an autopsy revealed that she had been strangled.