2024 Olympic Participant Dies After Groom Attacks (6 photos)
Runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who represented Uganda at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, was hospitalized with burns to 75% of her body. The 33-year-old athlete was brutally dealt with by her chosen one. 
On Thursday, September 5, Uganda Olympic Committee President Donald Rukare officially announced Cheptegei's death: "We have learned of the tragic death of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei following a brutal attack by her boyfriend. May her gentle soul rest in peace. We strongly condemn violence against women. This was a cowardly and senseless act that resulted in the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will live on."
"We call on law enforcement to take decisive action to bring the perpetrator to justice." 
After participating in the Olympic Games, where she took 44th place, Rebecca trained in Kenya. On September 1, during an argument over a plot of land, her partner Dixon Ndima doused her with gasoline and set her on fire.
The attack took place in the athlete's home in the small town of Endebess. The woman was hospitalized, she died of multiple organ failure. 
Cheptegei's parents said their daughter bought land and built a house in Trans-Nzoia, near the Ugandan border and close to numerous training centres.
The case file says the couple could be heard arguing over the land before the fire started. Dixon broke into the house while Rebecca was at church with her two children. He brought a can of petrol. Neighbours rushed to the scene and put out the flames, but both the assailant and the victim were burned. Dixon suffered burns to 30% of his body. 
One of the daughters of the deceased witnessed the attack: "He kicked me when I was trying to save my mother. I immediately started calling for help, brought a neighbor who tried to put out the flames with water, but it didn't work." 
The athlete has represented her country at world championships since 2010. In 2022, Rebecca won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 
