The story of Letsile Tebogo, the new athletics figure who inspired Usain Bolt

From the moment Usain Bolt retired from professional sports, the world of athletics was waiting for a figure to appear who could, if not surpass him, at least equal him.

And that person can Letsile Tebogothe young Botswana sprinter who, at the age of 21, became the Olympic 200 meters champion at the Paris Games and sent a message to the world: “It’s time for Africa.”

But Tebogo’s story begins far from the athletics tracks, in Kanye, a city of about 47,000 inhabitants located south of Botswana. He was born there and grew up with his grandmother, because his mother worked 500 kilometers away and could hardly visit him.

Tebogo spent his childhood running and playing soccer with other children, never imagining that he would one day become one of the greatest figures in international athletics.

“Athletics is a hobby for me, I’m a football fan,” said the new Olympic champion at the Athletissima preview. “In 2019 I made the decision to dedicate myself to athletics when I qualified for my first junior world championship in Kenya,” he said.

At the U20 World Cup held in 2021 in Nairobi, Tebogo was 100 meters champion and 200 meters runner-up at the age of 18 only. This is the first time a Botswana athlete has won a medal in the short sprint at a world championship.

“I was really excited after accomplishing that feat,” he later said in an interview.

In 2023, at the Gaborone International Meet, he set the U20 world record for 100 meters with a time of 9.96 seconds and became the first Botswana to break the 10 second barrier.

Later that same year, he improved his record on two occasions: first during the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, where he shaved two hundred off his record, and then at the U20 World Championships in Cali , where he successfully defended his 100 meter title. . and brought his record to 9.91 seconds. It was then that the press and public began to see him as possible Usain Bolt’s successor.

In 2023, at the age of 20, Tebogo competed at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where he earned a silver medal in 100 meters and had a time of 9.88, just behind American Noah Lyles. He also took bronze in the 200 meters.

However, Botswana’s eyes are on the most important event in athletics: the Olympic Games, which will be held in August 2024 in Paris.

Tebogo started the Olympic year with another record: he set the best world record of 300 meters in Pretoria, South Africa, with a time of 30.69 seconds. A few months later, he traveled to Nassau to compete in the World Relay Championships, with the Botswana team. won gold in the 4×400 meter relay.

Everything was going well for the African athlete until tragic news reached him from his native Botswana. His mother, Seratiwa, died.

“I thought my career was over,” the athlete confessed.

The blow forced the young sprinter to change his strategy for the Paris Games and focus on the 200 meter event. “After my mother passed away, I sat down with my coach to talk and we planned to leave the 100-meter race,” said Tebogo. “It was a last minute decision to double, but we trained focused on the 200 meters because we saw that there was potential to win medals. I did the 100 meters for fun.”

Tebogo ran the Olympic 100 meters final and finished sixth with a mark of 9.86 secondssetting a new record in Botswana. A few days later he returned to the athletics track in Stade de France to make history: he won the 200 meters with a time of 19.46 seconds and set a new African record. This is the Botswana’s first gold medal at the Olympics. And he celebrated like Jamaican ‘The Lightning’, beating his chest before entering the finish line. Two days later he won silver in the 4×400 relay.

What he did made such a big impact in Botswana that the president himself, Mokgweetsi Masisi decreed a holiday so that the people could go out and celebrate.

“The support was great to see. There were more than 30,000 people along the way home,” said Tebogo about the reception he received in his home country.

“I think my life has changed and I have changed many lives not only in my country, but in the entire continent of Africa. I have shown them that, against all odds, anything is possible,” he said.