Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei dies after ...

Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei has died aged 33, the head of the country's Olympics committee said on Thursday, days after she was doused in petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend.

Warning: This story contains details about a domestic violence incident.

Kenyan and Ugandan media reported that Cheptegei suffered burns to more than 75 per cent of her body in the attack in Kenya on Sunday, making her the third female athlete to be killed in the country since October 2021.

Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said on Monday that Cheptegei’s partner Dickson Ndiema had bought a can of petrol and poured it over Cheptegei, then set her ablaze.

She was being treated for the burns but died in hospital, a spokesperson at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret city said.

Spokesperson Owen Menach said Cheptegei had been fully sedated on admission to the hospital, and had died on Thursday morning from organ failure.

Rebecca Cheptegei, left, during the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 women's marathon. (Kirby Lee: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters)

"We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei … following a vicious attack by her boyfriend," Donald Rukare, president of Uganda Olympics Committee, said in a post on X.

"May her gentle soul rest in peace and we strongly condemn violence against women. This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure."

The Uganda Athletics Federation also released a statement about the runner's death on X.

Cheptegei finished 44th at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack.

Ndiema was also burned during his attack and is being treated at the same hospital where Cheptegei died.

Mr Menach said Ndiema was still in the intensive care unit with burns to 30 per cent of his body, but that he was "improving and stable".

Reuters/AP