Nairobi, Sep 3 : Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who recently competed in the Paris Olympics, is fighting for her life after being subjected to a brutal attack by a former boyfriend in western Kenya. The 33-year-old athlete suffered severe burns to over 75% of her body after being doused with petrol and set on fire at her home in the small town of Endebess, where she had been training.

Cheptegei, who had previously secured gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2022, was reportedly rescued by neighbours after the attack. Both she and her alleged attacker, who also sustained serious burns, are currently receiving treatment at Moi Referral Hospital in Eldoret, the main town in the region.

Local police chief Jeremiah Ole Kosiom confirmed the attack to journalists, stating, "The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her," the BBC quoted him as saying.

The incident is believed to have been sparked by a dispute over a piece of land that Cheptegei had purchased in Trans Nzoia county, where she had built a house near Kenya's renowned athletic training centres.

Cheptegei's plight comes amid a troubling trend of violence against female athletes in Kenya. Just last year, the nation was rocked by the murder of long-distance runner Agnes Tirop, who was found stabbed to death in her home in Iten, another town known for its athletic training facilities.

In a similarly tragic incident in April 2022, runner Damaris Mutua was found strangled with a pillow over her face in the same town.

The violence has not only targeted women. In December of the previous year, Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat was stabbed to death by assailants in Eldoret.

/IANS