Paris Olympics competitor Rebecca Cheptegei is in hospital after being set on fire by her boyfriend, according to police. The Ugandan, who lives in Kenya, sustained burns on 75 per cent of her body following Sunday’s terrifying attack.

Cheptegei was covered in petrol and set ablaze at her house in the western part of Trans Nzoia County, according to a report from the area’s Police Commander, Jeremiah ole Kosiom.

The 33-year-old’s boyfriend is said to have carried out the attack due to a disagreement. The police chief’s report states that they were heard arguing over the land on which Cheptegei’s house sits before he left and returned with a jerrican of petrol.

Cheptegei is reported to be in a critical condition at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, while her boyfriend, who also sustained burns during the attack, is in the same hospital receiving specialised treatment.

The police chief said: “The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her.”

Cheptegei represented Uganda in the women’s marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing 44th. Another career highlight saw the long-distance star win gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand two years ago.

Sunday’s attack is the latest in a growing line of horrific incidents involving athletes stationed in Kenya since October 2021, when world medallist Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in Iten.

Competitions were suspended for two weeks by Athletics Kenya as a mark of respect for the national star, who was only 25 at the time of her death. Months later, fellow female runner Damaris Mutua was found strangled in her own home with a pillow over her face in the same town.

Athletics Kenya responded with the following statement: “It is another case of a life cut short and a talent washed down the drain considering the achievements Damaris had made in her career.”

Furthermore, late last year, three-time Olympian Benjamin Kiplagat was found with stab wounds to his chest and neck near the town of Eldoret, where Cheptegei and her boyfriend are currently being treated.

World Athletics said they were ‘shocked and saddened’ by the news after Kiplagat was discovered gravely injured in a car at the age of just 34.