The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said on Friday that a sports complex will be named after the dead Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei.
Cheptegei, who ran in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics last month, died on Thursday from serious burns after being doused with petrol and set on fire by her partner at her Kenyan home.
“She dazzled us here in Paris. We saw her. Her beauty, her strength, her freedom, and it was in all liklihood her beauty, strength and freedom which were intolerable for the person who committed this murder,” Hidalgo told reporters.
“Paris will not forget her. We’ll dedicate a sports venue to her so that her memory and her story remains among us and helps carry the message of equality, which is a message carried by the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Hidalgo added.
Cheptegei, 33, made her Olympic debut in the women’s marathon at the Paris Games, where she finished 44th.
Police and doctors say she was left with 80 percent burns after being attacked in front of her children on Sunday by her Kenyan partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach.