A Paris sports venue will be named after Ugandan Olympic runner, Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after her ex-boyfriend reportedly set her on fire, according to an announcement by the French capital’s mayor.
Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo had said that dedicating a sports venue after Cheptegei would help “her memory and her story remain among us”.
Cheptegei’s death is coming after she competed in the Olympic marathon in Paris, coming 44th in a time of two hours 32 minutes and 14 seconds.
The 33-year-old mother and athlete died on Thursday after sustaining severe burns after her former partner allegedly doused her in petrol and set her on fire outside her home in north-western Kenya on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the authorities in western Kenya have informed BBC that they are treating Cheptegei’s death as murder.
What They’re Saying
Hidalgo had given a heartfelt speech to news reporters about the deceased athlete, saying that “the runner dazzled us at the Olympic Games in the French capital. Paris will not forget her”.
“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,”
“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.” She concluded.
A fellow athlete of Cheptegei’s, Jaian Chelimo had reacted to Cheptegei’s death saying that women need to “come together” following the incident.
“I knew Rebecca as a person: we were together at the Paris Olympics. She was a mum, she had been hard working to be at the Olympics,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
“She was the breadwinner of her family and you can imagine other girls were looking up to her.”
“We are still hoping, and trying to hope, that the perpetrators will be held accountable for their wrongdoings.” Chelimo concluded.
