Grapevine

France to name sports centre after Ugandan Olympian, Cheptegei

Cheptegei, who competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, was killed after being set on fire by her partner, leaving the world in shock.

Police said a man identified as Dickson Ndiema Marangach had doused Cheptegei with petrol and set her alight at her home in Endebess in the western county of Trans-Nzoia.

PUNCH Online reported that Ugandan athletics officials confirmed Cheptegei’s death four days after being set on fire.

“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.