World Athletics is shocked and deeply saddened to be taught that Ugandan distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei died tragically on Thursday (5 September) on account of an alleged home abuse assault.
Over the previous 15 years, the 33-year-old had represented her nation at main championships on the observe, roads, cross nation and mountains. Her most notable achievement was her victory within the up and downhill race on the World Mountain and Path Operating Championships in 2022.
A proficient teenager, Cheptegei represented Uganda on the 2010 World Cross Nation Championships in Bydgoszcz, the place she positioned fifteenth individually and earned bronze within the staff competitors.
She competed within the senior race on the following yr’s version in Punta Umbria, and went on to symbolize Uganda on the observe on the World Navy Video games later that yr.
She made her third World Cross Nation Championships look in 2013 and competed on the African Cross Nation Championships in 2014.
After making her marathon debut in 2021, she set a Ugandan document of two:22:47 in 2022 in what was simply her fourth race on the distance. That got here simply six weeks after her victory on the World Mountain and Path Operating Championships in Chiang Mai.
Final yr she completed 14th within the marathon on the World Championships in Budapest. She completed simply exterior of the medals within the half marathon on the African Video games earlier this yr, then went on to make her Olympic debut in Paris, putting forty fourth within the marathon in 2:32:14.
“Our sport has misplaced a proficient athlete in essentially the most tragic and unthinkable circumstances,” mentioned World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “Rebecca was an extremely versatile runner who nonetheless had heaps left to offer on the roads, mountains and cross nation trails.
“I’ve been in contact with our Council Members in Africa to see how we might help not solely in our capability as governing physique of the game Rebecca competed in, however to evaluate how our safeguarding insurance policies is perhaps enhanced to incorporate abuse exterior of the game, and bringing collectively stakeholders from all areas of athletics to mix forces to guard our feminine athletes to the most effective of our skills from abuse of every kind.”