Letsile Tebogo made history at the recently concluded Olympic Games hosted by France in Paris, their capital city. He won a gold medal in the 200-meter race at the Paris Olympic Games with a time of 19.46 seconds, shocking the American trio of Kenny Bednarek (second), Noah Lyles (third), and Erriyon Knighton (fourth). This victory made him the first-ever African athlete to win gold in the 200-meter race, following in the footsteps of Namibia’s star, Frankie Fredericks, who was considered the grandfather of African sprinting. Fredericks came close to winning by securing back-to-back silver medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter events at the Olympics in Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996.
Letsile Tebogo, born on the 7th of June 2003 in a town named Kanye in Botswana, began his journey as an athlete at the 2021 World Athletics Relays held in May in Chorzow, Poland, which was his first experience at the age of 17. He continued to excel, competing at the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, where he won the 100 meters and earned a silver medal in the 200 meters in August of the same year. He never looked back, setting a new national record in the 100 meters at the Botswana Athletics Championships with a time of 10.08 seconds.
Months later, he became the first man from Botswana to break the 10-second barrier at the event, setting a new world under-20 record, a record that had been held by Trayvon Bromell from America since 2014. Tebogo clocked 9.94 seconds at the Gaborone International Meet. He later broke his own record again in the final of the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, improving his time from the World Athletics Championship held in Eugene, Oregon, from 9.94 seconds to 9.91 seconds.
What is captivating about this young sensation’s achievement is how he overcame the struggles and storms life threw at him. Prior to the Paris Olympics, on the 19th of May 2024, the Botswanan athlete lost his mother, Seratiwa, to disease. This rocked his world, as he expressed his grief and agony in an interview, saying, “I thought I was closing the season. I thought it was the end of my career.” The loss came while he was already on athletic duty. However, Letsile Tebogo took time to work his way back and returned to the game, debuting in his first official Olympics at the French capital, Stade de France, packed with thousands of spectators. Despite being tagged with the underdog status, he persevered.
After a disappointing finish in the 100-meter race, where he placed 6th with a time of 9.86 seconds, Tebogo didn’t let that hold him back. Instead, it motivated him to shock the world in the 200-meter race with a record time of 19.46 seconds, beating favorites like Noah Lyles, the fastest man who had just won the 100-meter race, and another strong contender, Kenny Bednarek. Tebogo also continued to help his compatriots secure a silver medal in the 4 x 400 relay with a time of 2:54.53. These achievements have added stardom to his profile, making him a force to be reckoned with and making Africa proud.
There are valuable lessons to be learned from the Botswana prodigy’s tremendous achievements. As he reflected in his interview after the 200-meter race triumph, he said, “It was really a beautiful race for me. It means a lot to the African continent because now they see Africa as a sprinting home, so we just had to make sure that the message is loud and clear.” Indeed, the African continent is a sprinting home, and there can be more improvements and achievements in the coming future if athletics are taken seriously, with investments in facilities, logistics, and coaches. In time to come, Africa could be locking horns with dominant countries like the USA and Jamaica in the sprinting world.
In conclusion, the likes of Joseph Paul Amoah and Benjamin Azamati, who hail from Ghana, the promising South African star Akani Simbine, and other emerging forces from various African countries, can make a strong case for the African continent in the world of athletics. Undoubtedly, Letsile Tebogo, the 21-year-old Botswana star, is now the face of African sprinting, and the journey to even greater heights has just begun for him.
Written By Aaron Nai