On September 5, 2024, Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei died after being set on fire. After a disagreement, Cheptegei’s boyfriend at the time, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, left to buy the gasoline that would leave the Olympian with burns on 80% of her body. A severe burn is classified as 20% coverage or more. Only 33 years old, she went into multi-organ failure and succumbed to her injuries at the Moi Teaching and Referral Center. Marangach was also severely burned in his attack, dying from respiratory failure five days after Cheptegei.
Rebecca Chepetegei was born in Kenya along the Ugandan border, the second child out of thirteen. Although her ancestral home was in Bukwo (Uganda), she moved to the settlement of Chepkum (Kenya) to be closer to athletic centers. She had two young daughters, aged 9 and 11, with her husband, Simon Ayeko. One of the girls was present for the attack, and was kicked to the ground by Marangach after attempting to help her mother. Cheptegei was a world champion in mountain running and a marathon national record holder in addition to running cross-country and long distance. She was incredibly accomplished, representing the country of Uganda in competitions like the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the World Athletics Championship. Some of her victories include the 2022 Padova Marathon, the 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, and the 47th running of the Cross Internacional Ciutat de Granollers. Her life was taken far too soon.
Sadly, Rebecca Cheptegei’s story is not an anomaly, it’s part of a pattern. One in three women in Kenya face domestic violence but female athletes are often at an even higher risk. In 2021, Agnes Triop, a 25 year old professional long distance runner, was stabbed to death in her own home by her husband. This occurred only a few weeks after she had set a new women’s 10km world record in Germany. She was a world champion and an Olympian, with ten kids. That same year, another female Kenyan runner, Damaris Mutua, was strangled to death by her boyfriend. She was an up and coming talent, placing in the top three of both the Arab Cross Country Championship and the Luanda half-marathon. Mutua left behind her 6 year old son and devastated family members. The heartbreaking stories of Vivian Cheruiyot, Edith Muthoni, and Lucy Kabu reflect the same violent cycle. All of these women were elite runners about to make their mark. The combination of increased travel opportunities and income stemming from their success, could trace these attacks back to the patriarchy. In Kenya, men are generally characterized as breadwinners and patriarchs, so these female athletes often become targets, whether the aim is to control them or their earnings.
These deaths have sparked anger and outrage in the hearts of many, leading another group of female athletes in Kenya to start the Tirop’s Angels foundation in 2022. Their goals are to prevent violence by empowering girls and women, strengthen laws that prevent femicide, and offer vital services to survivors in need. According to the Olympic Games, Joan Chemilo, one of the founders, says, “Today, if one girl is being abused in Iten, they will call Tirop’s Angels. Years back that would not happen,”. The foundation works to increase the jail time for male predators and abusers in addition to setting up a 24-hour hotline so women and girls in danger can get help whenever they need. A number of Kenyan female athletes have joined Tirop’s Angels, including former long distance runner Mary Jepkosgei Keitany, Olympic gold medalist Peres Jepchirchir, and long distance runner Caroline Chepkwony. And even beyond this, Agnes Tirop’s memory lives on, with the Tirop’s Angel logo adorning world champions’ running vests, and a thousand athletes running in the Agnes Tirop Memorial Race.
Memorial was paid to Rebecca Cheptegei at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. They played her eulogy after the T12 and T54 races, showing a photo of her mid-race at the finish line. The crowd offered a minute of applause in respect and memory. According to CNN, Paralympic T54 gold medalist Catherine Debrunner expressed her sorrow: “I don’t really have the words for it. We should not take it for granted what we can do here.” (CNN). 47 women fall victim to femicide each week in Kenya, so to help combat this in even the slightest way, donate- whether that be time or money- to organizations like Tirop’s Angels, Gender Violence Recovery Center Kenya, Agatha Amani House, and Love Volunteers.
