Olympic marathon runner suffers 75 per cent burns after alleged petrol attack by boyfriend

Attack is the latest against a female athlete in Kenya, some of which have been fatal

A world-champion runner who raced at the Olympics last month is in a critical condition after allegedly being doused with petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend.
Rebecca Cheptegei suffered burns to more than 75 per cent of her body following an attack at her home, according to police.
Her alleged attacker also sustained serious burns in the incident in western Kenya, local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom told journalists.
“The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” Kosiom was quoted as saying.
Cheptegei, 33, was said to have been rescued by neighbours at her home in the small town of Endebess before she and her attacker were taken to Moi Referral Hospital in Eldoret, the main town in the region.
The athlete, who was born in and competes for neighbouring Uganda, is said to have bought a piece of land in Trans Nzoia county and built a house, to be near Kenya’s many athletic training centres.
A report filed by a local administrator said she and her attacker had been wrangling over the piece of land.
The attack occurred exactly three weeks after Cheptegei finished 44th in the Olympic marathon.
She previously won gold at the 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The attack on her is the latest against a female athlete in Kenya, some of which have been fatal.
In April 2022, fellow runner Damaris Mutua was found strangled with a pillow over her face in the Rift Valley town of Iten.
It came months after record-breaking long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in the same town.
Men have also been targeted, with Uganda’s Benjamin Kiplagat stabbed to death by assailants in Eldoret in December.