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Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei Set connected Fire successful Gasoline Attack Weeks After Paris Games
On Aug. 11, Rebecca Cheptegei finished successful the mediate of the battalion of the women's marathon astatine the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Now, she's warring for her beingness astatine a infirmary successful Kenya.
The 33-year-old region runner suffered burns implicit much than 75 percent of her assemblage aft a man, referred to by authorities arsenic her boyfriend, doused her with gasoline and acceptable her connected fire astatine her location successful Trans-Nzoia County connected Sept. 1, according to section police.
Dickson Ndiema Marangach, the alleged perpetrator, besides suffered "serious burns" and they were some being treated astatine Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital successful the metropolis of Eldoret, Trans-Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom told Kenyan paper The Star.
Cheptegei, a Ugandan-born jock surviving successful Kenya to beryllium person to elite grooming facilities, was successful captious information with outer and inhalation burns, MTRH CEO Dr. Owen Menach told reporters extracurricular the hospital.
"She is simply a high-profile patient," helium added, "and we are doing each we tin to prevention her life."
According to Kosiom, neighbors heard Cheptegei and Ndiema arguing connected Sept. 1 astatine her location successful Endebess, Kenya. Then, the commandant said, Ndiema left, purchased a 5-liter tin of gasoline and returned to Cheptegei's residence.
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"The mates were heard quarrelling extracurricular their house," Kosiom told Kenya's The Standard. "During the altercation, the fellow was seen pouring a liquid connected the pistillate earlier burning her."
The disturbing onslaught comes amid rising outrage implicit the scourge of unit against women successful Kenya, where, according to the Africa Data Hub (which tracks media reports connected specified incidents), astatine slightest 500 women and girls person been murdered since 2016.
"The shocking world that astatine slightest 10 women person been killed successful the archetypal period of 2024 unsocial intensifies an already troubling trend," Mary Njeri, a gender-based unit analyst, told UN Women successful February. "Each nonaccomplishment is simply a stark indicator of the systemic issues we are striving to dismantle."
While doctors effort to forestall Cheptegei's sanction from being added to that tragic list, present is much to cognize astir the jock warring for her life:
Who is runner Rebecca Cheptegei?
Cheptegui was calved Feb. 22, 1991, and grew up successful Cheminy, successful the eastbound African federation of Uganda.
Her dada Joseph Cheptegei told reporters that his girl is simply a joined parent of 2 daughters, property 9 and 11, and their begetter lives successful Uganda.
She's been competing professionally successful region races since 2010, according to World Athletics, with her first listed result being a 4-minute, 20.49-second 15th-place decorativeness successful the 1,500-meters astatine the 38th IAAF World Cross Country Championships that twelvemonth successful Poland.
In 2022, she won the Padova Marathon successful Italy and finished 2nd successful the 10,000-meters astatine the Ugandan Championships, arsenic good arsenic triumphed successful the women's up-and-down upland contention astatine the the inaugural World Mountain and Trail Running Championships successful Chiang Mai, Thailand.
She capped disconnected that twelvemonth finishing successful 4th spot successful the 2022 ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon with a idiosyncratic champion clip of 2:22:47.
Istvan Derencsenyi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Cheptegei finished 14th successful the marathon astatine the 2023 World Athletic Championships successful Budapest past summertime and was 1 of 25 athletes who qualified to correspond Uganda astatine the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At the Summer Games, wherever she made her Olympics debut, she finished 44th (of 91 runners, 11 of whom didn't finish) successful the women's marathon with a clip of 2:32:14.
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Ugandan Olympic Committee president Donald Rukare slammed the onslaught connected Cheptegei arsenic "totally unacceptable."
"Let's support Rebecca successful commune [sic] and privation her a afloat recovery," helium posted connected X Sept. 3. "Let's each accidental NO to unit particularly against women. This is wholly unacceptable and we condemn this wholly uncalled for attack. Together let’s basal against violence."
He continued, "This is heartbreaking and wholly unacceptable. No 1 should ever person to endure specified violence, particularly idiosyncratic arsenic inspiring arsenic Rebecca. We indispensable each basal unneurotic and accidental NO to unit against women. Let’s support Rebecca successful our thoughts and prayers, and enactment towards a nine wherever specified acts are condemned and eradicated. Wishing her a afloat and speedy recovery. #NoToViolence #StandWithRebecca."
What was Rebecca Cheptegei's narration with the antheral who allegedly acceptable her connected fire?
While constabulary referred to Marangach arsenic Cheptegei's boyfriend, her begetter told reporters extracurricular the hospital, per The Star, "They were conscionable friends, and I wonderment wherefore helium wanted to instrumentality things distant belonging to my daughter."
Standing alongside Cheptegei's sister Evalyne Chelagat, the household patriarch pleaded for justice.
Marangach suffered burns implicit 30 percent of his assemblage successful the occurrence and was successful amended information than Cheptegei, according to infirmary CEO Menach.
Police commandant Kosiom told The Standard that Marangach snuck into Cheptegei's location astatine astir 2 p.m. connected Sept. 1 portion she and her children were astatine church. "Upon returning, Dickson, who had procured petrol, began pouring it connected Rebecca earlier helium acceptable her ablaze," helium said. Eventually, helium continued, "The 2 were rescued by neighbors who enactment retired the occurrence and rushed them to hospital."
Investigators recovered an bare state tin and a fire-damaged mobile telephone they judge belonged to Cheptegei, Kosiom said.
The commandant besides said Cheptegei and Marangach had been progressive successful a protracted quality implicit onshore that was headed to tribunal and were known to person argued astir it before.
And amid reports that called the onslaught a home dispute, Cheptegei's dada Joseph re-emphasized that his girl was not romantically progressive with Marangach.
"I privation to authorities that my wounded girl is joined and her hubby is successful Uganda," helium told The Standard. "Her attacker was a person they met successful Kenya and my girl trusted him. They fell retired precocious but the fishy sneaked into her compound connected Sunday afternoon, equipped with 5 litres of petrol and hid successful a poultry house."
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Where is Rebecca Cheptegei now?
Cheptegei was archetypal rushed to Kitale County Referral Hospital earlier being transferred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital for specialized treatment, according to authorities.
She remains hospitalized astatine MTRH, "in captious information and nether support," anaesthesiologist and Critical Care specializer Dr. Josephat Kerema told The Standard Sept. 3. "We are successful the archetypal signifier of absorption arsenic we measure Rebecca."
He said that, successful summation to the tegument damage, the inhalation burns she sustained affected her pharynx and airwaves, and doctors were moving to forestall multi-organ failure. But, the doc assured that she would beryllium stabilized wrong a fewer days.
Cheptegei's begetter told the work that her children were being cared for by their grandmother.
"Her children are crying successful the location aft proceeding astir the attack," helium said. "I person asked my woman to instrumentality attraction of them arsenic we anticipation for my daughter’s recovery."
For much accusation connected home maltreatment oregon to get assistance for yourself oregon idiosyncratic you love, sojourn the website for The National Domestic Violence Hotline (http://www.thehotline.org/) oregon telephone 1-800-799-7233.
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