Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei died on Thursday, days after she was doused in petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend in Kenya, in the latest attack on female athletes in the country.

Kenyan and Ugandan media reported that Cheptegei, 33, who competed in the Paris Olympics, suffered burns to more than 75% of her body in Sunday’s attack, making her the third sportswoman to be killed in Kenya since October 2021.

“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,” he said.

The runner, who finished 44th in Paris, was admitted to a hospital in the Kenyan Rift Valley city of Eldoret after the attack.

Cheptegei “passed today morning at 5:30 am after her organs failed,” Owen Menach, senior director of clinical services at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, told Reuters, adding that a full report regarding the circumstances of her death would be released on Thursday afternoon.

Kenyan Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen described her death as a loss “to the entire region”.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to combat gender-based violence in our society, which in recent years has reared its ugly head in elite sporting circles,” he said in a statement.

Uganda’s athletics federation called for justice for Cheptegei.

Peter Ogwang, Uganda’s minister of state for sports, said Kenyan authorities were investigating the killing, which has shone a spotlight on violence experienced by women in the East African nation.

Nearly 34% of Kenyan girls and women aged 15-49 years have suffered physical violence, according to government data from 2022, with married women at particular risk.

The 2022 survey found that 41 percent of married women had faced violence.

A report by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said that in 2022, African countries collectively recorded the largest number of killings of women, both in absolute terms and relative to the size of the continent’s female population.

In October 2021, Olympian runner Agnes Tirop, a rising star in Kenya’s highly competitive athletics scene, was found dead in her home in the town of Iten, with multiple stab wounds to the neck.

Ibrahim Rotich, her husband, was charged with her murder and has pleaded not guilty. The case is ongoing.

The 25-year-old’s killing shocked Kenya, with current and former athletes setting up ‘Tirop’s Angels’ in 2022 to combat domestic violence.

Joan Chelimo, one of the founders of the non-profit, told Reuters that female athletes were at high risk of exploitation and violence at the hands of men drawn to their money.

“They get into these traps of predators who pose in their lives as lovers,” she said.

-Reuters

Former Cote d’Ivoire defender Sol Bamba has died aged 39, Turkish club Adanaspor, where he was technical director, announced on Saturday.

Bamba played for Cardiff City, Leeds United and Leicester City. He also had spells with Italian side Palermo, Scottish clubs Dunfermline Athletic and Hibernian, and Turkish side Trabzonspor.

He made 46 appearances for his country, scoring one goal and retired in January 2023 and went into coaching, serving as assistant manager at Cardiff before taking up the role of technical director at Adanaspor.

“Our technical director Souleymane Bamba, who fell ill before yesterday’s match against Manisa Football Club, was taken to Manisa Celal Bayar University Hospital and sadly lost his battle for life,” Adanaspor said in a statement.

“Our condolences go out to his family and our community”.

Bamba was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2021, but was declared cancer-free after a course of chemotherapy.

Cardiff City, where Bamba won promotion to the Premier League in his first season, called his impact on the club ‘immeasurable’.

“It is with the deepest sadness that we have learnt this evening about the passing of Club legend, Sol Bamba. He was a hero to all of us, a leader in every dressing room and a true gentleman,” the club said in a statement.

“This is absolutely tragic news. Sol Bamba has passed away at the age of just 39. Our deepest condolences to the family,” the Cote d’Ivoire national football team said on Instagram.

Leeds United called him ‘one of the nicest people in football’.

“The thoughts of everyone at Leeds United are with Sol’s family and friends at this tragic time. Rest in peace Sol, you will forever be in our hearts.”

-Reuters

South American football was in mourning on Tuesday following the death of Uruguayan defender Juan Izquierdo, who collapsed on the pitch after suffering an irregular heartbeat during a Copa Libertadores game last week.

The 27-year-old had been undergoing medical treatment since collapsing during Nacional’s game against Brazilian side Sao Paulo on Aug. 22.

Uruguay’s Nacional defender Juan Izquierdo reacts during his Copa Libertadores match against Sao Paulo before suffering an irregular heartbeat during the game and falling to the ground unconscious, in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 22, 2024. REUTERS/Carla Carniel/File Photo

Izquierdo fell to the ground unconscious in the 84th minute without coming into contact with another player. He was taken off the pitch in an ambulance before being treated at the intensive care unit of Albert Einstein Hospital.

The hospital said in a statement Izquierdo had died as a result of brain death following a cardiopulmonary arrest associated with cardiac arrhythmia.

“It is with the deepest sorrow and shock in our hearts that the Club Nacional announces the death of our beloved player Juan Izquierdo,” Uruguay’s Nacional wrote on X.

“We express our most sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. All of Nacional is in mourning for his irreparable loss.”

The Uruguayan Football Association said the news was deeply painful, while the national governing bodies of Argentina, Peru, Paraguay and Colombia extended their condolences to Izquierdo’s family and friends.

“South American football is in mourning,” said Alejandro Dominguez, the president of South American soccer’s governing body CONMEBOL.

Brazilian Football Federation President Ednaldo Rodrigues said a minute’s silence would be observed in every match organised by the federation on Wednesday.

Sao Paulo said they were deeply saddened by the news, calling it a “sad day for football”.

Related story: Uruguay suspends all football activity over a player’s health https://www.sportsvillagesquare.com/2024/08/24/uruguay-suspends-all-football-activity-over-a-players-health/

-Reuters