The city of Paris will pay tribute to Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei by naming a sports site after her, the mayor of the capital, Anne Hidalgo, announced on Friday, September 6.
Cheptegei, 33, who competed in the marathon during the Paris Olympics and finished 44th.my place, died on Thursday from severe burns after being doused with petrol and set on fire in her home in Kenya by a man, identified as Dickson Ndiema Marangach, presented as her companion, when she was returning from church with her children.
“Paris will not forget him. We will dedicate a sports site to him so that his memory and his story will remain with us and contribute to spreading the message of equality, which is a message that the Olympic and Paralympic Games carry.said m.me Hidalgo during a press conference.
“She dazzled us here in Paris. We saw her. Her beauty, her strength, her freedom, and it is likely that her beauty, her strength and her freedom were intolerable for the person who committed this murder.”added the city councilor.
Paris 2024 expresses “deep indignation and sadness”
His death sparked widespread condemnation, with the United Nations calling it “violent murder”. The organizers of the Paris Olympic Games have expressed their “deep indignation and sadness”. “Our sport has lost a talented athlete in the most tragic circumstances”“This is the reaction of Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, the international athletics federation.
He also praised the Ugandan’s sporting qualities, stating that “Rebecca was an incredibly versatile runner who still had a lot to give on the roads, mountains and cross-country trails”.
Coe said he was speaking to members of the World Athletics board. “evaluate how our safety measures could be improved to take into account abuse outside of sport, (…) to better protect our athletes from abuse of all kinds”.
Janet Museveni, First Lady and Minister of Education of Uganda, also reacted to X: “The news of the tragic death of our daughter Rebecca Cheptegei due to domestic violence is deeply disturbing.” Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said it was a “brutal reminder” that more needed to be done to combat gender violence.
