Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who was admitted to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, has died, Kenyan news outlet Daily Nation reports.
According to MTRH Acting CEO Dr Owen Menach, who is the Director of Clinical Services and Surgery, Cheptegei, who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), passed away at 5 am from what he described as full organ failure.
"It is sad that we lost the patient early this morning after all her organs failed at about 5 am while we were doing our best to save her life," Dr Menach said.
Dr Tony Sabila, a family member, confirmed to Nation Sport that the Olympian had indeed passed away on Thursday morning, September 5.
"It is true that we lost our sister this morning although the doctors tried to save her life and I was there personally," said Dr Sabila.
The patient had 80 percent burns and was incubated and fully sedated due to the extent of the burns and is on full support in terms of blood, water, medication, and breathing through a ventilator.
Cheptegei, 33, suffered severe burns from open flames over her entire body.
The Kenyan government announced on Wednesday, September 4, that preparations were underway to airlift Cheptegei to Nairobi for specialised treatment, but this was not to be.
According to the Principal Secretary for Sports, Peter Tum, he revealed that there had been discussions with Uganda's Sports Minister, Peter Ogwang, and an agreement had been reached to airlift Cheptegei to Nairobi for specialised treatment and care.
Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei condemned the incident, saying it should not happen to anyone because life is precious and must be respected at all times, adding that people should always live in harmony.
"The incident that happened to our athlete from Uganda is really unfortunate and it's sad because you can't harm someone because of a disagreement over property, especially that of a partner. As a federation, we want to condemn this in the strongest possible terms because this is not the way we should live," said Tuwei, who is also the vice-president of IAAF.
