Athletics-Ugandan marathon runner Cheptegei burnt after being doused with petrol

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who competed in last month’s Paris Olympics, has suffered burns to over 75% of her body after allegedly being doused with petrol by her boyfriend, local media reported on Monday.

Cheptegei is in a critical condition in hospital in Eldoret, Kenya after the attack on Sunday afternoon, both Kenyan and Ugandan newspapers said.

Trans Nzoia county police commander Jeremiah Ole Kosiom told The Star newspaper that Cheptegei's boyfriend, named as Daniel Ndiema Marangach, was also burnt in the attack, described as a domestic dispute.

The 33-year-old Cheptegei, who finished 44th in Paris, has a house in Kenya where she stays when she trains in the country.

The police said they were investigating.

(This story has been refiled to correct the spelling of Cheptegei)

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; editing by Pritha Sarkar)