“A minute’s applause”: the Olympic organizing committee paid tribute on Sunday at the end of the Paralympic marathon to Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who died in Kenya after being burned alive by a man presented as her companion.
After the arrival on the Esplanade des Invalides in the heart of Paris of the last participants in the Paralympic marathon, around midday, the organizers of the Games broadcast a message over the loudspeaker in French and English to remember the athlete who died at the age of 33, noted an AFP journalist.
“In her memory, please join us in a minute’s applause,” they asked, as Rebecca Cheptegei’s photo was shown on the giant screen above the stands.
The sparse audience applauded warmly. The organizers then played an excerpt from Téléphone’s song, “Un autre monde.”
Rebecca Cheptegei, who took part in the Olympic marathon (44th), died on Thursday at 5:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. GMT).
She was hospitalized on Sunday after being doused with gasoline and set ablaze in her home by the suspect, identified as Dickson Ndiema Marangach, as she was returning from church with her children. Her death sparked widespread condemnation, with the United Nations calling it a “brutal murder.” Organizers of the Paris Olympics expressed “deep indignation and sadness.”
His name will be given to a sports site
The marathon runner’s father…
- ParisMatch
