When Joan Chelimo first met Rebecca Cheptegei, she remembers her fellow distance runner simply as a “normal, happy girl,” delighted to be competing at the Olympics.
The pair had started talking after competing in the women’s marathon in Paris last month, Chelimo representing Romania and Cheptegei running for Uganda.
“We had these chats after the race, and she was just so kind,” Chelimo tells CNN Sport. “You could see she’s hardworking.
“And to be honest, I could not see any sign – you couldn’t tell from how she was speaking – that she was going through something. And that makes me so sad.”
Weeks after the Olympic marathon, Cheptegei died aged 33, succumbing to burns caused by her boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, during an attack at her home in Kenya.
Trans Nzoia County police said that Cheptegei had been doused in petrol by Ndiema, who stormed her house with a jerry can of gasoline and set her on fire after a disagreement over land. Ndiema has also died having sustained burns during the attack.
“I don’t know where the humanity is,” says Chelimo. “I feel like something more has to be done. We need to come together as one voice, not only women but also men. Everybody in society and the community just needs to come together and see how we can end this.
“I’ve been very sad. I could not sleep some of the nights. It’s been just terrible.”
