France to name sports venue in honor of Ugandan runner, Cheptegei

The city of Paris will commemorate Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who tragically lost her life in a brutal attack in Kenya. 

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced plans to name a sports venue in Cheptegei’s honor.

This initiative aims to preserve her memory while promoting the values of equality that the Olympic and Paralympic Games represent.

Cheptegei, who competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, was killed in a shocking incident where her partner set her on fire.

According to police reports, Dickson Ndiema Marangach doused her with petrol before igniting the flames at her home in Trans-Nzoia, Kenya.

News360 Nigeria also confirmed that Ugandan athletics officials reported Cheptegei’s death four days after the attack, leaving the sporting world in mourning.

“Paris will not forget her. We’ll dedicate a sports venue to her so that her memory and her story remain among us and help carry the message of equality, which is a message carried by the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Hidalgo added.

“She dazzled us here in Paris. We saw her. Her beauty, her strength, her freedom, and it was in all likelihood her beauty, strength, and freedom that were intolerable for the person who committed this murder,” Hidalgo told reporters.

Cheptegei, 33, made her Olympic debut in the women’s marathon at the Paris Games, where she finished 44th.

Police and doctors say she was left with 80 per cent burns after being attacked in front of her children on Sunday by her Kenyan partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach.