Athlete Rebecca Cheptegei Suffers Burns in Alleged Attack by Boyfriend
Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who competed in the 10,000 meters at the recent Paris Olympic Games, was admitted to a hospital in Kenya on Monday with severe burns following an alleged attack by her boyfriend, according to police reports.
The incident took place in Trans Nzoia County, in western Kenya. Due to the severity of her injuries, the athlete was urgently transferred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in the western city of Eldoret.
Trans Nzoia County Police Commander, Jeremiah Ole Kosiom, confirmed the incident and stated that the athlete suffered burns on 75 percent of her body, as reported by the local newspaper The Star.
Cheptegei, 33, was allegedly attacked by her boyfriend, who doused her with gasoline and set her on fire.
The alleged attacker also sustained severe burns and is being treated at the same hospital, according to the same source.
The athlete’s parents, Joseph Cheptegei and Agnes Ndiema, said that she was initially admitted to Kitale Level Four Hospital, the capital of Trans Nzoia, but was later transferred to the Eldoret facility.
The parents, who traveled to Trans Nzoia to gather information about the attack, stated that their daughter, who resides in Uganda, had purchased land in the Kenyan county and had built a house where she stayed during her training sessions.