Athletes’ Safety in Jeopardy: Kipyegon and Arop Sound the Alarm on Gender-Based Violence

Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon and Canadian athlete Marco Arop have voiced their concern over the rising incidence of gender-based violence affecting athletes.

Kipyegon and Arop have addressed the escalating instances of gender-based violence experienced by athletes.

Ugandan marathoner Rebecca Cheptegei is the latest victim, having been reportedly attacked by her former partner, who allegedly poured petrol on her and set her on fire, resulting in almost 80 percent of her body being burned.

Cheptegei passed away at the beginning of September and was laid to rest on Saturday. She joins the tragic list of female athletes who have been killed by their partners in recent years, including Kenya’s Agnes Tirop and Kenyan-born Bahraini Damaris Mutua.

“I really condemn that act; we need to end GBV. It is not a good thing to happen to athletes, not good to happen to women that every time we are burying somebody because of GBV,” Kipyegon told CNN journalist Larry Madowo.

“To see Rebecca being buried after what happened to her hurts me a lot. It is hard.”

“We urge our families if there is any problem if it can be sorted, they sit down and sort it out but to end someone’s life is not good. Just tell someone it is the end of the relationship, walk away and everything will work out.”

Tirop was fatally stabbed by her husband in 2021, while Mutua was found strangled in her Iten home, with her boyfriend being the primary suspect.

In response to Tirop’s death, the non-governmental organization Tirop’s Angels was established to raise awareness about gender-based violence.

Arop, a supporter of this initiative, sports a vest with the organization’s message at various events, including last week’s Diamond League meeting in Brussels.

“Remember Agnes Tirop, this [Tirop’s Angels] started like kind of a tribute to her, you can follow the foundation, they raise awareness for domestic abuse,” Arop said.

“It is a great thing, I am always happy to wear it on my chest when I compete and when people ask, it shows it is working. If we don’t raise the awareness then it will keep going on until someone makes a change.”