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Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei’s horrific death after being doused with petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend has again brought to the fore Kenya’s harrowing history of domestic violence against female athletes.

Her killing follows the deaths of at least two other high-profile female runners in cases of domestic violence in the last three years in a region that has produced dozens of Olympic and world champions.

What happened to Cheptegei?

Cheptegei, who was from Uganda, died on Thursday at age 33. Police say Cheptegei’s boyfriend poured a can of petrol over her and set her on fire during a dispute on Sunday. She suffered 80% burns on her body and died in a hospital in the town of Eldoret four days later.

The boyfriend was also burned in the attack and is being treated at the same hospital. No criminal charges have yet been announced against him.

Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month ago, finishing in 44th place. She lived in western Kenya’s famous high-altitude training region that draws the best distance runners from across the world and had recently built a house there to be close to the training centers.

Agnes Tirop

The brutal slaying of Kenyan star runner Tirop in the same region in 2021 led to an outpouring of anger from fellow athletes and prompted the East African country’s athletics authorities to acknowledge the scourge of domestic abuse as a major problem.

Tirop was one of Kenya’s brightest talents when she was stabbed to death at her home in Iten, the other world-renowned distance-running training town in Kenya, alongside Eldoret. Her husband, who was on the run, was arrested days after the killing and has been charged with murder. His court case is still underway.

Like Cheptegei, the 25-year-old Tirop had just competed at an Olympics — the 2021 Tokyo Games — and had set a new world record in the 10-kilometer road race in another competition a month before she was killed. Her body was found with stab wounds to the stomach and neck, as well as blunt trauma injury to her head.

In the weeks after Tirop’s death, current and former male and female athletes, spoke out over what they said was a long-running problem of domestic abuse against female athletes in the region. Some marched through the streets of Iten to demand better protection for female athletes and stricter laws against abusers.

Other Kenyan athletes like Ruth Bosibori, a former African champion in the steeplechase, and Joan Chelimo, a marathon runner, said Tirop’s killing had emboldened them to talk about their own abusive relationships.

Both said they had escaped violent partners that made them fear for their lives.

Damaris Muthee

Just six months after Tirop, another runner was killed. Kenyan-born Muthee, who competed for Bahrain, was found dead in a house in Iten after being strangled. Her decomposing body had been there for days before it was found, authorities said at the time.

A male Ethiopian runner with whom she was in a relationship was charged with murder. Muthee, who was 28, had a young child from another relationship.

The cases of domestic abuse in Kenya’s running community are set against the country’s overriding high rates of violence against women, which has prompted marches by ordinary citizens in towns and cities this year.

Activists say successful female athletes may be especially vulnerable in instances when their partners want to control their money and assets in an impoverished region and the women refuse and push back.

Police said Cheptegei was killed in a dispute with her boyfriend over the land she had just built a house on.

Samuel Wanjiru

One of Kenya’s best male athletes also died in what authorities said was a domestic dispute in 2011. Wanjiru was 24 and at the time the reigning Olympic marathon champion. He fell to his death from a balcony at his home during an argument with his wife.

He had been arrested a year earlier and questioned by police for allegedly threatening to kill his wife with an assault rifle. He denied the allegations.

Although Kenyan authorities ruled Wanjiru died after falling or jumping from the balcony, his family claimed that he was killed.

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AP Africa news:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Fans and Columbus Blue Jackets players gathered for an emotional candlelight vigil outside the team’s arena to remember Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, who died last week when they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey.

The crowd of roughly 1,000 outside Nationwide Arena was encouraged to light their candles at at 7:49 p.m. Wednesday evening. For the next 13:21 minutes — for Johnny’s No. 13 jersey and Matthew’s No. 21 — they stood in silent remembrance watching a slideshow played of photos showing the siblings from childhood, through their teenage years and into college hockey, the pros, marriages, baptisms and lives filled with joy and love.

Flanked by a memorial 20 feet deep and 40 feet wide (6 meters by 12 meters) of jerseys, candles, balloons, stuffed animals, Gatorade bottles and signage, players including captain Boone Jenner, defenseman Erik Gudbranson and forward Cole Sillinger shared their memories of Johnny Gaudreau.

Gudbranson had known Gaudreau the longest, dating to their time as teammates with the Calgary Flames. He made the crowd chuckle sharing stories of Gaudreau barely making it on time to every team meeting and how he could be out of the locker room in his suit before Gudbranson had gotten out of his skates.

“A little thing I did with John is I’d pick him up and give him a bear hug, and I wouldn’t put him down until he told me he loved me,” Gudbranson told the crowd. “He wouldn’t tell me for a long time. I know up here it was because he enjoyed the hug. We just miss him so much.”

When the timer finished counting up and candle wax and tears commingled on the bricks outside the arena, chants began: “Johnny Hockey, Johnny Hockey, Johnny Hockey.”

At 8:08, the players moved back inside the building. A similar vigil took place in Calgary, where Johnny Gaudreau played for nearly a decade.

The funeral for the Gaudreau brothers will take place Monday at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Media, Pennsylvania. Their obituaries noted it would be streamed on the Columbus Blue Jackets’ website, given the number of people expected to attend.

In Columbus earlier Wednesday, players and general manager Don Waddell attempted to make sense of the tragedy.

“While there’s a huge hole in our lineup, there’s an even bigger one in our hearts,” Waddell said, acknowledging that questions remain about how the team would move forward. “Our immediate focus is on supporting the Gaudreau family and supporting each other as we continue to grieve the loss of Johnny and Matthew.”

Waddell said the team will look to their leaders. Jenner, who has been captain since 2021, said the Blue Jackets must persevere and support each other as a unit.

“As a team, we’re going to get through this together,” Jenner said. “We’re going to grieve, cry, be vulnerable and support each other every step of the way, but we will persevere because I know that’s what Johnny would’ve wanted.”

Gudbranson said that while he has struggled to find consistent connections with many teammates, Gaudreau’s unique way of driving him crazy brought them together.

“You will continue to inspire me to be just like you,” Gudbranson said.

Gaudreau turned down more money from the New Jersey Devils to sign a $68.25 million, seven-year contract with the Blue Jackets in 2022.

Defensemen Zach Werenski highlighted Gaudreau’s decision to move and embrace the city of Columbus.

“You brought so much joy and excitement to this city,” Werenski said. “I’ve never quite seen anything like it.”

The Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road in Oldmans Township at about 8 p.m. on Aug. 29 when a man driving an SUV in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind, according to New Jersey State Police. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. On Thursday, the judge postponed a hearing in the case until Sept. 13 to give both sides more time to prepare. The suspect is being held until then.

Gudbranson ended his statement with a message to people considering driving while under the influence of alcohol.

“If you think about driving after a few beers or a fun night, please, please, please do not,” Gudbranson said. “Find a way home.”

At the annual NHLPA rookie showcase outside Washington, union executive director Marty Walsh said the tragedy was having wide-ranging effects around hockey.

“The deaths of Johnny and his brother are impacting a lot of players in the league as a whole and obviously is impacting their alma mater, Boston College, and the people in Boston,” Walsh said. “The tributes are beautiful to see. We’ve just got to continue to support the family the best we can.”

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Arlington, Virginia, contributed to this report.

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AP NHL:

OTTAWA – The decision by the Bank of Canada to cut its key interest rate target this week was good news for borrowers with variable-rate mortgages, bringing back some of the shine for the once popular loans.

The rate cut prompted big commercial banks to lower their prime rates, which are used to set the rates charged for variable-rate mortgages.

Toma Sojonky, a mortgage broker at Verico Paragon Mortgage Group in West Vancouver, B.C., says variable-rate mortgages are beginning to regain some traction with clients after falling out of favour when the rate-hiking cycle began.

“I think there are folks who understand that the pendulum is swinging the other way,” he said.

Those with a variable-rate mortgage have had a wild ride since the start of the pandemic.

When the Bank of Canada cut interest rates to nearly zero in the spring of 2020, those with variable-rate mortgages saw the rates charged on their loans fall too, helping fuel their popularity.

But the reverse was also true. When the central bank started rapidly raising rates in 2022 in an effort to bring inflation under control, those with variable-rate loans saw their costs march higher in lockstep. The increase in rates meant either higher payments or less principal being repaid on the loans.

Borrowers who saw the interest rates charged on their loans more than double saw their monthly payments increase by hundreds of dollars or the amortization period of their loans extended by years.

The popularity of variable-rate loans plunged.

But the economy has shifted once more and the central bank has cut interest rates three times this year so far and suggested more cuts were coming.

In announcing the rate cut Wednesday, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said if inflation continues to ease broadly in line with the bank’s July forecast, it is reasonable to expect further cuts in the policy rate.

Julie Leduc, a mortgage broker at Mortgage Brokers Ottawa, said clients with variable-rate loans were not happy when rates were rising, but the cycle is turning.

“We’ve lived the worst of it, we’re on our way out,” she said.

“So let’s look for the benefits and the benefit is, if they go variable and the rates go down, they’re going to live the benefit.”

Right now, the rates offered to those looking for a new variable-rate mortgage or needing to renew are higher than those being offered for five-year fixed rate mortgages, something that Leduc called an anomaly.

That’s because the expectations are that the Bank of Canada will continue to cut interest rates, lowering the amount charged to borrowers in the future. If something unexpected happens and the central bank doesn’t cut rates, then the rates charged on variable-rate mortgages won’t go down.

But if things continue to roll out as expected, those choosing variable-rate loans will see the amount they are charged go down. Just how much and how quickly will depend on the central bank.

Sojonky says the discounts lenders offer to the prime rate for variable-rate mortgages are also improving.

“Previously in the winter or last fall, we saw discounts to prime as low as 0.15 to 0.3, whereas now we are beginning to enjoy discounts to prime that are approaching one per cent again,” he said.

Leduc says variable-rate mortgages also have the advantage of being less costly to break than their fixed-rate counterparts if you need to get out of one before the term is up.

The penalty for variable-rate loans is typically three months of interest, while a fixed rate closed mortgage penalty is typically the greater of three months of interest or what is called the interest rate differential amount, which is often much greater.

Leduc says none of her clients expect to break their mortgages before the end of their term but in reality, about half of them end up doing so.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.