Ugandan runner Rebecca Cheptegei remembered after Paris 2024 Paralympic marathons
Paris 2024 paid tribute to Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei on Sunday (8 September).
Cheptegei died on Thursday in Eldoret, Kenya after she was set on fire by her former boyfriend. She was 33 and had made her Olympic debut four weeks ago, finishing in 44th place.
Following the T54 and T12 marathons, a short spoken eulogy was aired on the public address system with a photo of Cheptegei celebrating shown on the big screen near the finish line at the Esplanades de Invalides.
After referring to her as "a victim of femicide", the announcer asked the crowd to join a minute's applause in memory of the runner.
The tribute was arranged by Paris 2024 organisers, together with the International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee, Para World Athletics and World Athletics.
Spectators pay tribute to late marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei
Paralympic marathon competitors react to death of Rebecca Cheptegei
Fresh from securing his third consecutive men's marathon T54 gold, Marcel Hug said it was important for the Paralympic movement to send a strong “message out against violence”.
“It's terrible, and we should really try to avoid violence like this,” the Swiss said in an interview with Olympics.com.
“I didn't personally know her, but she was a good person, and it's so sad. It's a good opportunity to think of her here at the Paralympics. We should send a message out against violence like this.”
His compatriot Catherine Debrunner who won her first Paralympic women's marathon T54 gold, also paid her respects.
“It was a really big shock. I don’t really have the words for it. We should not take it for granted what we can do here,” she commented.
Australia's silver medallist Madison de Rozario added, "The fact that we're still in a place where women who are so dominant in their field are still as susceptible to anyone else is horrifying, and it's heartbreaking.
"One of the things that we do know though is that girls and women who do participate in sport and men who engage with women's sport, that combination is less likely to engage in domestic violence. Men who follow women's sports as fans and are able to respect women as athletes, that does carry over to how they view the women in their lives.
"From a Paralympic perspective, Olympic perspective, eyes on screens, I think putting women into positions of respect that men already occupy does change how we view the women in their lives."
"It's really sad what happened to her and my heart goes out to her family," said South African Louzanne Coetzee, world record holder in the women's marathon T11 who finished seventh in the women's T12 marathon. "As women in sport, we should aim to prevent that from happening."
According to police, Cheptegei was doused with petrol and set alight by her ex-boyfriend outside her home after an argument. The suspect remains in hospital having sustained serious burns.