Attacks on women have become a major concern in Kenya, with a national survey showing that at least 34% of women reported experiencing physical violence in 2022.
Some experts say female athletes are becoming increasingly vulnerable.
“(It) goes against the traditional gender norms of women being in the kitchen, cooking and taking care of the children. But now female athletes are becoming more independent, they are becoming financially independent,” said Joan Chelimo, who co-founded Tirop’s Angels to highlight violence against women.
“We don’t want this to happen to any other woman, whether she’s an athlete, a villager or a young girl,” Rachel Kamweru, a spokesperson for the government’s Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, told the BBC.
When Cheptegei first started running, she enlisted in the Uganda People’s Defence Force in 2008 and received support.
Her last race was the Paris Olympics, where she finished 44th, but her hometown people still called her “the champion”.
She won a gold medal at the 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
