"Joan Chelimo, a long-distance runner, expresses her bewilderment, inquiring, 'Where is the humanity?' following Rebecca Cheptegei's demise."
The duo started chatting after finishing in the women's marathon in Paris last month, Chelimo representing Romania and Cheptegei representing Uganda.
"We had these conversations after the race, and she was simply so kind," Chelimo tells CNN Sport. "You could tell she was hardworking.
"And to be completely honest, I couldn't detect any signs of struggle - you couldn't tell from her demeanor that she was going through anything. And that makes me incredibly sad."
Weeks after the Olympic marathon, Cheptegei passed away at the age of 33, succumbing to burns caused by her boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, during an attack at her home in Kenya.
Trans Nzoia County police reported that Cheptegei was doused in petrol by Ndiema, who stormed her house with a jerry can of gasoline and set her on fire following a disagreement over land. Ndiema also passed away due to burns sustained during the attack.
"I don't know where humanity has gone," says Chelimo. "I feel like something more has to be done. We need to come together as one voice, not only women but also men. Everyone in society and the community just needs to come together and see how we can put an end to this."
"I've been very sad. I couldn't sleep some nights. It's been terrible," she adds.
After the tragedy, Chelimo visited Cheptegei's home to see the site of the attack and learn about the horrific details from Cheptegei's children, who are 11 and 9 years old.
Chelimo was informed about how Cheptegei tried to put out the flames engulfing her body by rubbing against a tree and rolling on the grass, desperate to do anything to stop the burning.
"You could see from the burnt grass that there were some patches where no grass was left," she says.
"That is the moment I said to myself, 'I'm going to work for justice. I don't want this to happen again.'"
Chelimo is a board member for Tirop's Angels, an organization formed by athletes following the 2021 killing of Kenyan distance runner Agnes Tirop, whose husband, Ibrahim Rotich, has been charged with her murder. Rotich has pleaded not guilty, according to Reuters, and the case is ongoing.
Tirop's Angels aims to combat gender-based violence in Africa and around the world. Among its objectives are empowering women and girls at risk of violence, expanding services available to survivors, intensifying efforts to turn policy pledges into reality, and engaging men and boys in prevention efforts.
The organization also holds fundraising events - including marathons and half marathons - to promote awareness of gender-based violence and celebrate the lives of victims. On Friday, a day before Cheptegei's funeral in eastern Uganda, Tirop's Angels hosted a femicide walk in the Kenyan city of Eldoret.
There have been plenty of challenges along the way for those involved in Tirop's Angels, particularly in the early days.
"The first time we started Tirop's Angels, we faced a lot of rejection," says Chelimo. "We were not accepted by the community because they viewed us as 'those are just girls who are against marriages, they want to separate people.'" But when they started incorporating men in their activities, they were accepted.
According to government data from 2022, more than a quarter of men, and a third of women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence in Kenya, "committed by a husband/wife, intimate partner or anyone else." The survey also shows that "marital status is linked to experiences of violence among women ... women who have ever been married are much more likely to have experienced violence since age 15 than those who have never been married (41% versus 20%)."
According to Chelimo, the issue of violence towards women in Kenya is born out of archaic ideas surrounding gender roles, and female international athletes are often targeted due to their financial success.
"These women are going against traditional norms where the woman was just in the kitchen and taking care of the kids," she says, adding: "Women athletes nowadays have traveled and know their rights and want to come out and speak up. They are becoming more independent, financially independent, and when they want to divorce, they can."
Months after Tirop's death at age 25, another Kenyan athlete, 28-year-old Damaris Mutua, was found strangled in a home with a pillow over her face. Mutua had placed third at a half marathon in Angola earlier that month.
Having represented Uganda at international races for several years, Cheptegei was competing at the Olympics for the first time in Paris, finishing 44th in the marathon.
Her mother, Agnes, remembered her as a "good child," while her father, Joseph, blamed the Kenyan government and police for failing to prevent their daughter's death, saying that the family had previously reported Ndiema for domestic violence offenses.
Neither the Kenyan police nor Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations have responded to CNN's request for comment.
"She spoke up," says Chelimo, "she told people around her, she reported it to the police. Nothing was done. So, the family's cry was 'We just want justice; we just want more enforcement from the government.'"
When she speaks, Chelimo does so with a heavy heart. She laments the pain caused to Cheptegei's children - "the scars that they are left with" - and wants better protection systems in place to protect future generations of women.
"Ain't solely chasin' cash, I'm sayin'. I'm joggin' for each and every lady out there that's lookin' up to me, goin' through their own struggles.
That's exactly what went through my mind: 'I gotta watch over my own kind.'
CNN's Nimi Princewill and Faith Karimi helped out with the story."
Chelimo expressed her sadness over Cheptegei's passing, stating, "We need to come together as one voice to put an end to gender-based violence." Later, Chelimo mentioned her involvement with Tirop's Angels, an organization dedicated to combating gender-based violence, and their mission to empower women and promote awareness of these issues through events like marathons.
