Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics last month but was admitted to intensive care in Kenya on Sunday with 80 percent burns after her boyfriend doused her with petrol and set her on fire in another tragic incident of communal violence in the country.
“She amazed us here in Paris. We saw her beauty, her strength, her freedom. And her beauty, her strength and her freedom seemed unbearable for the person who committed this crime,” Hidalgo told reporters, according to AFP.
“Paris will not forget her. We will dedicate a sports facility in her name so that her memory and story will remain with us, and to carry the message of equality that the Olympic and Paralympic Games convey,” she added.
Cheptegei, 33, was making her first Olympia appearance in Paris, finishing 44th in the marathon.
Police said runner Rebecca Cheptegei was assaulted after her Kenyan boyfriend Dickson Ndima Marangash sneaked into her home in Endebise in Trans Nzoia County at about 2pm on Sunday while she and her children were at church.
“Dixon, who used gasoline, began pouring it on Rebecca before setting her on fire,” police said in a report on Monday, adding that he was also injured by the fire.
Her killing, described by the United Nations as a “violent killing”, sparked widespread condemnation.
“The news of the tragic death of our daughter Rebecca Cheptegei due to domestic violence is deeply disturbing,” Janet Museveni, Uganda’s First Lady and Minister of Education, said on her Instagram account.
Kenyan Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said the incident was a “stark reminder” of the need to do more to combat gender-based violence.
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