Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei has passed away after being admitted to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
Dr. Owen Menach, the Acting CEO and Director of Clinical Services and Surgery at MTRH, reported that Cheptegei, who was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), succumbed to full organ failure at 5 am.
“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 sustained burns covering 80 percent of her body and has been placed on a ventilator while being fully sedated and receiving comprehensive support, including blood, fluids, medications, and respiratory assistance. Cheptegei, 33, endured extensive burns from open flames affecting her entire body.
On Wednesday, September 4, the Kenyan government announced plans to airlift Cheptegei to Nairobi for specialized medical care; however, this plan did not materialize.
Principal Secretary for Sports, Peter Tum, indicated that discussions had taken place with Uganda’s Sports Minister, Peter Ogwang, resulting in an agreement to facilitate Cheptegei’s airlift to Nairobi for advanced treatment.
Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei expressed his disapproval of the incident, emphasizing that such occurrences should never happen, as life is invaluable and must be honoured, urging for a harmonious existence among individuals.
“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 World Athletics.
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