Paris Olympics marathon runner Cheptegui suffers 75 per cent burns after being doused with petrol by boyfriend

Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegui, who competed in last month’s Paris Olympics, has suffered burns to over 75 per cent of her body after allegedly being doused with petrol by her boyfriend, local media reported on Monday.

Cheptegui is in a critical condition in hospital in Eldoret, Kenya after the attack on Sunday afternoon, both Kenyan and Ugandan newspapers said.

Trans Nzoia county police commander Jeremiah Ole Kosiom told The Star newspaper that Cheptegui’s boyfriend, named as Daniel Ndiema Marangach, was also burnt in the attack, described as a domestic dispute.

The 33-year-old Cheptegui, who finished 44th in Paris, has a house in Kenya where she stays when she trains in the country.

The police said they were investigating.