Athletes mourn Rebecca Cheptegei – The Kampala Report

Ugandan Athletes are mourning the death of Rebecca Cheptegei who succumbed to burns on Thursday, at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kenya.

The incident that led to the death of Cheptegei, occurred on Sunday when Marangach, the deceased’s boyfriend, allegedly entered Cheptegei’s compound armed with petrol. He reportedly doused her in petrol and set her alight.

Joshua Cheptegei, the 10,000-meter Paris Olympic Champion, described the female athlete as a role model to many shining female athletes in Uganda like Joy Cheptoyek, Peruth Chemutai, and Sarah Chelangat.

“It’s with grief that, we have lost an athletics female Icon and a sister to Ugandan Athletes. Her aching demise calls a need for Justice for athletes for such gruesome infliction on them is uncalled for,” he said.

Stella Chesang, the Ugandan Female Marathon National record holder, describes Cheptegei’s death as a blow to Ugandan female athletics. “I remember, before I transitioned my Marathon career, Cheptegei was already representing Uganda at international debuts, and she was always courageous and exhibited all her energy to make the team Uganda Proud.

According to Chesang, Cheptegei encouraged and motivated her while training in Kenya, four years ago, with other Ugandan athletes.

The 2010 Commonwealth double gold medalist in 10,000 and 5,000 meters champion Kipsiro, says Rebecca’s death has created a gap in Uganda’s athletics row, describing her as an advocate for success and breadwinner of her children.

He explains that Cheptegei valued togetherness while representing Uganda at world athletics events like the Olympics, and world championships among others.

Mercyline Chelangat, another Ugandan female marathoner, remembers Cheptegei for her faith in Christianity and prayerfulness. “Every time before we go to bed at the recent Olympics preps in Kapchorwa, she reminded us of prayers before sleep,” says Chelangat. She adds “Her generosity and support to other fellow athletes, especially in training was immense”.

Peruth Chemutai, the Paris Olympic Silver Medalist in the 3000-meter steeplechase, described the deceased as an influencer and patriot in running.

“She would never miss any national competitions like Cross countries and Road racing” states Chemutai.

Njia Benjamin, the President of the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) technical and also the national coach, says Rebecca Cheptegei was a humble and disciplined athlete.

Her demise comes after the killings of fellow East African athletes like, Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechaser Benjamin Kiplangat who was found dead with stab wounds in 2023.

In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee was found dead and a postmortem report stated that she was strangled. In 2021, long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death at her home. Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, was arrested and charged with murder, the case is ongoing.

Cheptegei had recently participated in the Women’s Marathon at the Paris Olympics, where she finished in 48th position. She also won the 2022 Padova Marathon and was 2nd in the 10,000 m at the Ugandan Championships, Kampala.

In the same year, she set a Ugandan national record of 2:22:47 in the marathon event and won the postponed 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.