Paris naming sports venue for Cheptegei

Article posted by Coliseum, September 10^th, 2024

Image: Coliseum GSVA

The city of Paris has revealed plans to name a sports venue in the French capital after murdered Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei.

Cheptegei, who was from Uganda, was only 33 years old when she was doused with gasoline and set on fire in her home in Kenya by her ex-boyfriend. She died later from serious burns.

Kicker said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced that a sports venue would be named after Cheptegei.

She said, “Paris will not forget her. We will dedicate a sports facility to her so that her memory and her story remain with us and help convey the message of equality carried by the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Hidalgo did not say which sports facility would have the honour of being named after the marathon runner who competed at the Paris Olympics just a few weeks ago.

The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and branded as Paris 2024, is an international multisport event which ran from July 24^th – August 11^th.

Cheptegei, who leaves behind two daughters, represented Uganda as an emerging symbol of hope and resilience, especially for young athletes in her homeland.

Her achievements on the track made her a source of pride for Uganda and an inspiration for women across the sporting world.

The tragedy has shocked the global sports community and reignited conversations about gender-based violence.

Just a few weeks ago at the Olympics, the long-distance runner competed in the marathon for Uganda on August 11^th and finished in 44th place.

In 2023 she finished 14^th at the World Championships in Budapest, and in 2021 she became world champion in up and downhill at the Mountain and Trail Running World Championships.

Hidalgo added, “She fascinated us here in Paris. We saw her: her beauty, her strength, her freedom. And it was most likely her beauty, her strength and her freedom that were unbearable for the one who committed this murder.”

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