The city of Paris will pay tribute to the late Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei by naming a sports venue in her honor, as announced by French capital’s Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Friday.
Cheptegei, who competed in the women’s marathon during the Paris Olympics last month, tragically passed away from severe burns on Thursday. She was attacked at her home in Kenya, where her boyfriend doused her with petrol and set her on fire.
“She dazzled us here in Paris. We saw her beauty, her strength, her freedom, and it was precisely her beauty, strength, and freedom that seem to have been intolerable to her murderer,” Hidalgo told reporters.
“Paris will not forget her. We will dedicate a sports venue to her so that her memory and story remain among us, serving as a beacon for the message of equality championed by the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Hidalgo added.
Cheptegei, aged 33, made her Olympic debut in the women’s marathon at the Paris Games, where she finished in 44th place. She suffered 80 percent burns following the attack by her Kenyan partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, in front of her children on Sunday.
Her death, described by the United Nations as a “violent murder,” has elicited widespread condemnation.
“The news of our daughter Rebecca Cheptegei’s tragic death due to domestic violence is deeply disturbing,” posted Janet Museveni, Uganda’s First Lady and Education Minister, on X.
Kenyan Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen called the incident a “stark reminder” of the urgent need to address gender-based violence.
The Paris Olympics organizers expressed their “profound indignation and sadness” over the tragedy.