Paris plans to honor Rebecca Cheptegei, put name on facility

Paris intends to name a sports facility in honor of Rebecca Cheptegei, the Ugandan Olympic marathoner who died after she was set on fire by her boyfriend this week.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Friday announced the plans to pay tribute to Cheptegei. The proposal will be discussed by elected city officials in October.

“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 which were intolerable for the person who committed this murder,” Hidalgo told reporters. “Paris will not forget her. 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.”

Cheptegei, who finished 44th in the marathon at the Paris Games, died Thursday, four days after she was doused in petrol and ignited by her boyfriend in Kenya in the latest attack on a woman athlete in the country. The 33-year-old suffered burns to 80% of her body in Sunday’s attack.

Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said this week that Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema, bought a can of gasoline, poured it on her and set her ablaze during a disagreement. Ndiema was also burned and was being treated at the same hospital that Cheptegei had been in.

Cheptegei is the third prominent woman athlete to be killed in Kenya since October 2021. Kenyan Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen described Cheptegei’s death as a loss “to the entire region” and said the government would ensure justice.

“This is a critical moment — not just to mourn the loss of a remarkable Olympian, but to commit ourselves to creating a society that respects and protects the dignity of every individual,” Uganda athletes commission chair Ganzi Semu Mugula said Friday.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.