World Athletics has called on African athletics federations to do more to protect female African athletes following the death of Ugandan long-distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei on Thursday.
The 33-year-old athlete died three days after she was admitted to hospital in Eldoret, Kenya after suffering over 75 per cent burns allegedly caused by her former boyfriend who was said to have doused her with petrol and set her alight.
The suspect remains in hospital after sustaining severe burns himself, according to the police.
World Athletics, the UN and the International Olympic Committee have all condemned the “violent murder”.
The President of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, said: “I have been in touch with our Council members in Africa to see how we can help not only in our capacity as governing body of the sport Rebecca competed in, but to assess how our safeguarding policies might be enhanced to include abuse outside of the sport, and bringing together stakeholders from all areas of athletics to combine forces to protect our female athletes to the best of our abilities from abuse of all kinds.”
He said of Ms Cheptegei: “Our sport has lost a talented athlete in the most tragic and unthinkable circumstances.
“Rebecca was an incredibly versatile runner who still had lots left to give on the roads, mountains and cross-country trails.”
On Friday, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, announced that the city would honour Ms Cheptegei by dedicating a sports venue to her memory.
She had finished 44th in the women’s marathon in the French capital four weeks ago when she made her Olympic Games debut in the event.
Ms Cheptegei finished 14th at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Ms Hidalgo said: “She dazzled us here in Paris. We saw her. Her beauty, her strength, her freedom, and it was in all likelihood her beauty, strength and freedom which were intolerable for the person who committed this murder.
“Paris will not forget her. We’ll dedicate a sports venue to her so that her memory and her story remains among us and helps carry the message of equality, which is a message carried by the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Over the past 15 years, Ms Cheptegei had represented Uganda at major championships on the track, roads, cross country and mountains.
After making her marathon debut in 2021, she set a Ugandan record of 2:22:47 in 2022 in what was just her fourth race at the distance.
Her most notable achievement was her victory in the up and downhill race at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2022 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
She finished just outside of the medals in the half marathon at the African Games earlier this year.
Ms Cheptegei, a mother of two, is the latest victim of domestic violence among athletes in Kenya.
In 2021, former 10km Kenyan world record holder, 25-year-old Agnes Tirop, suffered fatal stab wounds in Iten just 10 days after racing in Switzerland.
Barely a year later, another Kenyan road runner, Damaris Mutua, 28, was strangled to death in the same town, which is regarded as the perfect place for training by long-distance runners.
For many activists, the call by World Athletics for better safeguarding policies to ensure that women athletes in Africa do not continue to become victims of their boyfriends or husbands is seen as a step in the right action.
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