Remembering African sport's notable deaths in 2024

Africa bade farewell to several sporting greats over the course of 2024.

In a list that includes world champions and record holders along with stars of football and basketball, several of the deaths caused shock around the world.

BBC Sport Africa profiles a handful of the well-known faces that are no longer with us.

Dikembe Mutombo (DR Congo)

Former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were among those to pay tribute to Dikembe Mutombo in late September, hailing a man who left a legacy beyond the boundaries of a basketball court.

An eight-time NBA All-Star, his warm personality and trademark finger-wagging celebration made him a fan favourite over the course of his 18-year career in the USA.

Yet Mutombo will be remembered just as much for his humanitarian work in his native DR Congo and across Africa as his defensive skills as a centre following his death aged 58 from brain cancer.

Among the projects he funded were a hospital in Kinshasa and an educational institute in the city of Mbuji-May.

Rebecca Cheptegei (Uganda)

The 33-year-old runner became the victim of gender-based violence just weeks after competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Cheptegei died days after being doused in petrol and set on fire by a former boyfriend.

A report filed by a local administrator alleged the Ugandan and her ex-partner had been wrangling over a piece of land in north-west Kenya, where she lived and trained.

Having become the third athlete to be killed in the East African country over the past four years, World Athletics has identified campaigning against gender-based violence as a priority.

The Olympic marathon - in which she came 44th - was Cheptegei's last race.

Kelvin Kiptum (Kenya)

Another distance runner who had their career cut short, Kiptum and his coach were killed in a road accident in Kenya in February.

The 24-year-old remains the marathon world record holder after setting a time of two hours and 35 seconds in Chicago in October 2023.

After that landmark, Kiptum – who had been unable to afford a pair of shoes to run in his first major competitive race in 2018 – said his career was just "getting started".

His sudden death left many in Kenya and the wider world in shock, with the overwhelming feeling one of potential lost.

The father of two appeared destined to become the first man to run a sub-two-hour marathon in open competition.

This story originally appeared on BBC News.